My Best Friend's Brother
by starstrukk234
Summary: All her life, Sakura just wanted to feel loved. Her mother was dead and father beat her, not even caring, and she was bullied. And when her best friend's brother comes up to play, everything in her life changes, along with everyone else's. Hinata, Temari, and Tenten bashing. OOCs and AU. DeiSaku and HidaIno. On Hiatus.
1. Everyday Life

My Sister's Best Friend

_ A young pink haired girl was sitting in a cushioned seat, an over clean scent invading her nose. The walls around her were all very white, but as white as the body in front of. Blonde hair cascaded down into dark forest green eyes that were looking into the young girl's emerald eyes, showing regret. Next to her in another cushioned sat a man with dull pink hair styled into the shape of o cherry blossom. His blue eyes were shinning with worry as he looked over the pale woman lying in bed, her breathing slowing down before speeding and repeating the process every few seconds. "Kizashi, please stop worrying, I will be fine." The blonde woman, Mebuki, said to her husband who looked at her in concern._

_ "Daddy, what's wrong with mommy?" Sakura, the young girl of 7 years, asked looking up at her father in confusion. "How long will she be here?"_

_ "Sakura, please, don't ask questions. You won't even understand." Kizashi grunted. How was he to explain to his 7 year old what brain cancer was and that her mother would probably die?_

_ Sakura nodded, not wanting to anger her daddy. "Mommy, daddy, I have to use the bathroom. Is there one somewhere close?" _

_ "There is one down the hall, honey. Just ask a doctor to show you where it is." Mebuki said with soft smile on her pale face. A small, pained gasp made its way past her parted powder pink lips as a migraine hit her full force. Her vision began to show colored splotches before going back to normal. Sakura was already off the chair and over at the door._

_As Sakura stalked out of the white room, she glanced around nervously. She had never been in a hospital before, and she didn't know her way around one. All the halls were like long snakes to her and the tall doctors and nurses that rushed by were like giants. "Are you lost?" a deep voice said from beside her. She turned her head and saw a tall male in his late twenties, early thirties staring down at her with blue-green eyes and a long, dirty blonde ponytail. He was wearing a white coat and what looked to be a powder blue button-up shirt and a green tie._

_ "Yes, do you know where the bathroom is? My mommy said it was down the hall, but I don't know which hall she meant." Sakura muttered only loud enough for the man to hear. _

_ "Yes, I do in fact. Follow me." He said as he gave her a smile. "Hey, what's your name?"_

_ "My name is Sakura. Sakura Haruno. Why?" She asked as she gave him a look while following him down the long hallways, trying to make sure she wasn't in anybody's way. _

_ "You looked to be the same age as my only daughter; Ino Yamanaka. Do you know her? She goes to Konoha Elementary. Oh, and my name is Inoichi, by the way." The tall man said._

_ Sakura a few of the thick bangs that fell into her eyes while conjuring up the image of Ino in her head. Blonde and blue eyes, the gorgeous, nice girl. "Yes, I know her. She is in my class. She is very pretty, by the way. And nice. She is the only one in our grade that doesn't bully me because of my hair color." Sakura bowed her head while remembering all the cruel, evil things the other kids would say about her hair and forehead. Inoichi scowled while stopping, Sakura almost plowing into his legs._

_ "Well, here is the bathroom. I gue-" Inoichi was cut off as a young came sprinting down the hallway, screaming his name. "What is it?" he asked when the girl caught up to them. She was breathing hard with a few beads of sweat falling down her forehead and temple. _

_ "There is an emergency call in Room 607! The occupant has gone into a coma and the tumor is growing larger on her brain!" the nurse screamed, horrified. Inoichi's face went face went pale as all the blood rushed out of face; Room 607 belonged to Mebuki Haruno, Sakura's mom. _

_ "Take her to the operating room, stat! I will be there in a second!" Inoichi ordered the nurse, who in turn nodded before sprinting down the hallway and behind o corner. He turned to Sakura, who was looking up at him with confusion in her large eyes. "Sakura, you go on to the restroom. I need to take care of a patient, okay? Just… go to the waiting room when you are finished." Before Sakura could ask anything, Inoichi took off down the same way the nurse before had. Sakura watched before shrugging it off and heading into the bathroom. She hadn't even understood most of what the nurse had said, anyway._

_ When Sakura came out of the restroom, she headed to the waiting room across from it like the doctor had told her. When she got there, she looked shocked to her father already sitting on the couch while wringing his hands and looking around the room nervously. "Is something wrong, daddy?" Sakura asked as she stopped in front of him. Her father's eyes looked at her before turning away._

_ "It's your mother, Sakura. She passed out due to a headache while you were gone. They are taking her into the big room to try to wake her up." He lied, not wanting to have to take care of a crying Sakura. Sakura nodded her head slightly while sitting in a chair next to the couch. Her eyes scanned over the small area with four single chairs and a double person couch. In between each chair was a table full of magazines that Sakura would not be able to read, due to all of the big words that occupied the pages. On one wall were two vending machines, one full of snacks and gum, the other full of water and sugary drinks. The walls were a darker white compared to the room her mommy was in. The two sat in silence for a while longer, one not knowing what to say, the other not wanting to talk at all. _

_ After a few hours, a nurse with blonde hair tied into two ponytails at the base of her head and honey golden eyes walked into the waiting room, her face downcast. "Hello, my name is Tsunade Senju. I was your wife's nurse. We…have finished the operation." She paused, trying to word her sentence carefully._

_ Kizashi shot right out of his seat when she mentioned his wife. "Yes, how is she?" he asked anxiously. The woman's eyes looked at him sadly._

_ "I am sorry to tell you this, but your wife has passed away. She died in the middle of the operation. The tumor had gotten so large, even if we had removed it, we would have had to take a large portion of her brain out. She would have died anyway." Kizashi looked at her with shocked numbness. He couldn't feel anything in his body and never felt his body as he moved to look at his daughter._

_ "Sakura, we are going home now, follow me." Sakura looked between her father and Tsunade scared confusion on her face. She grabbed her daddy's hand and followed him to the car, waving as she passed Inoichi, who looked very sad at her. The drive home was a silent one, Sakura watching her father as he just drove without looking at anything, just seeing. _

_ "Get out." Her father stated harshly as they parked in the driveway to their small, two story house. Sakura looked up confused, but listened none the less. When her father got out, he grabbed her upper arm hard enough to make her cry out. He ignored her until they got into the house. He threw onto the ground in the living room and slapped her. "IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DID THIS! SHE WAS FINE UNTIL SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH YOU!" Kizashi screamed as he beat Sakura with every sentence._

_ "No, daddy! Stop! Stop! STOP!" _

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Sakura's emerald green eyes opened slowly, tears pouring down her face from the dream. Her sort layered pink hair lay out on the pillow, spread in every direction. She swallowed, her throat feeling very dry. Her pale hand pulled out of the bed and turned off her alarm clock before she pushed back the gray comforter from her body. Sakura hissed lightly as her feet landed on the cold, wooden floor. She patted softly to the bathroom, not bothering to get her clothes yet. She gently closed the door behind her, pausing for a second while holding her breath. Nothing, no noise was coming from downstairs. A relieved sigh pushed its way passed her lips as she turned on the light. She let her black top come off first, then letting her blue shorts pool around her feet. She removed her gray bra and panties before turning to the mirror. She nearly cried at the reflection.

Pale skin. Very pale skin with horrible scars and bruises marred her body. She was very thin, too thin for her liking. Her ribs and hip bones were probing out and you could easily count the number of ribs she had. A long scar that went from her right hip to her right rib cage was giving off a paler color than her skin. Her emerald eyes looked dead and dull with a giant forehead. Her pink hair was short and choppy, due to what her father had done last night with a knife. She had cut it into layers, trying to make it look better. Her bangs framed her face, her cheek bones high and probing out due to lack of nourishment. She had long legs that were too thin and looked more like chicken legs in her opinion. This was what society called beautiful, what every girl tries to accomplish by not eating, but to her she was ugly, hideous even. No one should look like that, or even want to look like that.

She stepped into the shower, wanting to forget the image that was forever placed into her mind. She turned the knob to turn the shower on and nearly screamed when cold water soaked her skin. Of course, her father had decided to use all the hot water. But Sakura wouldn't complain to him, not again. Not ever again from what happened the last time she did. How else do you think she got that long scar? She lathered her hair in strawberry scented shampoo before washing it out, trying to keep her body away from the freezing water, and lathered it again in coconut scented conditioner. Once all soap was out of hair, she washed her body as much as she could without hurting her new bruises and cuts from last night's beating. A sweet, honey scent filled her nose as she washed off all the soap from her body. She turned the knob, the water that was sputtering out of the shower head slowing to a stop before it ended all together. She stepped out and shivered as the cold air hit her water soaked body. As she passed the mirror to go back to her room, she kept her eyes straight ahead, not daring to look at the hideous body that would be reflected. Her father never bought her towels, saying they were too expensive for a lowlife like her.

Her feet made no noise at all as she padded to her wooden dresser. First, she chose a pair of polka dot bras and panties. Next, she looked through her clothing items, trying to find something that would hide all of her bruises and cuts. No doubt Ino would ask her what happened to her hair, seeing as how she liked it long. She soon found a purple long sleeved shirt and a pair of black sweat pants. She pulled gray socks from her sock drawer and put those on before slipping the shirt over her head and sliding the pants up to her waist. The warmth from her socks radiated onto her cold toes as she quickly moved over to her closet. She easily picked out her red Converse, seeing as how there was almost next to nothing left in her closet. She pulled down her draw string backpack that was a light ever green color with blue strings. All of her school things were in this bag. She had a purple notebook, halfway filled with notes from different classes, a black pen, and a gray folder with her graded paper work. She put her arms through the strings and let the bag gently hit her back, slightly flinching when it hit a bruise on her mid-back. It had been three days since she had obtained it, and yet it was still there. Her father was brutal when it came to her beatings, but he never hit her face. She could only bet it was because he didn't want her to have to go around town with a nasty cut or bruise showing on her face giving everyone the idea that her father beat her daily. Which he did, by the way.

Sakura walked calmly down the steps, a memory flashing of when her father threw her down the steps in a fit of rage after he lost a poker game with some of his buddies. She had only been twelve then and had nearly broken her arm she tried to stop herself from rolling down the steps. Her father had sneered at her before walking out of the house muttering that he was going to go the bar and she better not bother him if she knew what was good for her. She shook her head to get rid of it as she opened the refrigerator to look for something to eat. Nothing, she found nothing in there and her stomach began to growl. She was going to end up starving to death at this rate. She sighed as she closed the door and headed toward the front door, grabbing her house keys as she walked past the dining room table.

As Sakura closed the front door and locked it, she heard a car horn. She turned to find her best friend, Ino Yamanaka, sitting in her purple Mustang GT convertible. Ino was her age, 16 years old, with long blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, a long bang covering the right side of her face with large, baby blue eyes that had no pupil. She was wearing a green, long sleeved top with a gray tank top over it and black skinny jeans with white, knee high converse on. "Come on, Sakura! I'm going to give you a ride to school!" Ino yelled with a large smile on her face as Sakura opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. "We have to make a stop on our way there, first. We need to pick up Hidan and Deidara from Hidan's house. Dad says I have to." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Well, thank you for deciding to pick me up, Ino. I didn't want to walk to school, anyway. My legs still hurt from last week." Sakura stated with a flinch, remembering what her father had done when Sakura had used some of the hot water in her shower. Ino frowned at her.

"Sakura, why don't you tell the police what your father does? I mean, they would probably put an end to all of the beatings if you told them." Ino said while looking straight head, driving out of the suburb. Ino was the only one Sakura had trusted enough to tell her secret to. "Then you could come and live with us!" She added with a very cheerful face and voice.

Sakura just shrugged, not really knowing how to answer. Ino must have guessed it was her father who had cut her hair, seeing as how she hadn't asked yet. She watched the scenery they passed while heading to Hidan's place. It was mostly small shops and restaurants before they headed into a fancy part of town. Sakura called it fancy because that was where most rich people lived, the Yamanaka family included. They passed up tall houses that were either black, white, or beige in color with green lawns finely cut down to every blade and flowers decorating the lawn and giant trees of different types, such as cherry wood, oak, maple, and elm, towering over head, as if trying to reach the skies. As they went farther down the road, cherry blossom trees began to litter each side of the road, the petals falling off and twirling around just above their heads. Sakura watched in fascination as the petals seemed to dance with the wind. The car suddenly jolted to a stop and Sakura looked in front of them. There was a tall, black mansion sitting on a green lawn. In the middle of the front yard was a fountain with water lilies placed in it. You could see part of a lake that was in the back yard. The house itself looked to have at least four floors with large, marble columns holding it up all around the house. There was a balcony on the fourth floor of the house that was all around the front. Large, golden doors that were placed in the front suddenly opened to reveal two figures.

The first one had gray colored hair that was slicked back to his neck. He had violet/purple eyes and very pale skin. He had a lip ring, an earring, and a nose ring decorating his face. He was wearing a black, button down shirt with the first five unbuttoned, showing off his chest and tattoo. The tattoo was of Jashin, his clan's last name. It was a silver circle with an upside down red triangle in the middle of it. He also had on faded blue jeans with rips in the knees and black combat boots. "Finally! I thought we would have to wait forever, seriously!" He yelled out to them.

"Right, Hidan, that was what you were saying, yeah." The second figure said. He had long, golden hair with some tied into a ponytail on top of his head with a long bang covering the left side of his head. He was a sun-kissed tan with azure eyes that held some gray flecks. Unlike his friend, he didn't have any tattoos or piercings on his body, and didn't plan on getting any. He was wearing a gray hoodie, black baggy jeans, and red high tops.

"Well I for one don't care what he said. Just hurry up and get in the car. I don't want to be late for school." Ino scowled them as her twin brother and Hidan walked towards them.

Deidara opened his mouth to snap at her, but then immediately noticed Sakura next to her. His face turned brighter than a cherry when she looked at him and gave a small smile. He tried to grin, but it came out more like funny face. Ino slapped her hand to her forehead. After what Deidara told her one night, she finally understood why her older brother always acted like an idiot around her.

_-flashback-_

_ Ino was sitting on her bed, looking through a magazine. Since Sakura didn't have a phone, Ino really didn't have anyone to talk to. As she began to read an interesting article on how what certain make up brings out your features better, she heard a knock on her door. She raised an eyebrow but called out anyway. "Come in!" To say she was shocked that her older brother came in would be an understatement._

_ "Ino, I need to talk to you. This is super important. I… I think I may be in love or something like that, yeah." Deidara said, his voice shaky a little. Ino immediately put her magazine down and gave her brother all ears. No matter what they said or did to each other, they would always be there for each other if one had a problem with crushes. He gave a sigh before he swallowed to prepare himself for his speech. "Well, you see, ever since I first saw her at age 10, I have always gotten a weird feeling in my stomach, like a pile of butterflies fluttering around, you know? Then when she is close by, I feel myself blushing a lot no matter how much I try to stop it and I can't seem to concentrate on anything. I also become a stuttering mess of emotions when she is too close by, yeah. And I don't know why, either, other than I must like her a lot." Ino held big grin on her face and tried to sustain her fan girl-ish squeal. But is still came out._

"_EEP! Deidara, you are so IN LOVE!" Ino squealed again as Deidara blushed heavily and glared at her. "Who is it? Come on, you have to tell me who is it! I NEED TO KNOW!" Ino screamed. Deidara's right eye twitched a little as his sister went on a crazy little scheme of trying to find out who he 'loves as much as there is water in the ocean.'_

_ "It's Sakura, your best friend, yeah." Deidara stated simply, but blushing and squirming as he said her name. Ino stopped suddenly and turned around to face him, her eyes wide and larger than plates. Of course that was to be expected. Sakura was her best friend. Not to mention two years younger than him._

_-flashback end-_

Hidan could barely contain his snicker as he noticed Deidara staring at the back of Sakura's head while blushing redder than a cherry. He also knew of the blonde's feeling toward the pink haired girl and thought it was very funny when the usually loud boy became very shy and a stuttering mess around the small girl. His eyebrows knitted together when he saw her hair was shorter than usual. "Hey, Sakura, why did you cut your hair? I thought you liked it long." He asked. Both boys watched as the two girls stiffened in their seats at the question.

"Oh, you know, I just wanted to change my image. An image change! Plus long hair was always such a hassle to take care of and I never really liked it anyway." Sakura giggled lightly. So she was right. Ino _had _known why her hair was cut. But of course, when you knew about someone's abusive family, it didn't really take a rocket scientist to add two and two together.

"Well I like it, yeah! It brings out your facial features better." Deidara grinned as leaned over the seat to look at her. Sakura looked very shocked before she gave off a smile. That was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. Ino noticed this and smirked while meeting Hidan's eye in the mirror. Their plan was going to begin very soon. _Nice move, big bro! You're moving in the right direction with trying to get Sakura!_ Inner Ino cheered inside her head. She, like Sakura, had an annoying Inner that would come out sometimes.

"Thank you, Deidara. That means a lot to me." Sakura said as she watched in slight confusion when Deidara's cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. She shrugged it off, not really thinking it meant much. I mean, it was just a thank you, right? Well, if you were in Deidara's head, you would think Sakura just kissed him while confessing her love and proposing to him. Crazy people we have in this car, no?

"We are here!" Ino said in a sing-song voice when she parked in a parking spot. The other three groaned, not liking school at all. For Sakura, it was mostly because of how everyone there treated her, as if she was garbage or an alien. The only ones that liked her were Deidara, Ino, their cousin, Naruto, Hidan, Pein, Konan, and her cousin, Karin. For Deidara and Hidan, they just didn't like school. Or watching Pein sucking face with Karin, his girlfriend. "Oh, come on! Let's just go already! The faster we get there, the faster we can leave!" Ino said again while practically skipping to the door. Sakura's eyes widened as she ran to catch up with her super hyper friend.

"Ino, wait for me!" Ino stopped and turned to her friend, standing and waiting patiently as Sakura tried to catch up with her. Sakura let out a pained whimper as she stopped, the bag hitting her bruised back a little too hard. Ino looked at her with a worried expression. "Don't worry about me, Ino! I'm fine!" Sakura answered her unasked question, shooting her friend a sugary sweet smile that was a little too fake for Ino's liking. She then lowered her voice so only Ino could hear. "Plus, it's not like I'm not used to the pain, anyway. I have also had much worse than this, so I don't think it will be a problem." Her apple green eyes held sadness as she and Ino walked into the building.

"I know, but I just can't help but worry about you. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you feel the same, Sakura?" Ino asked while staring down at her friend. Ino nearly winced as she saw Sakura's ribs showing through her shirt. Ever since Sakura had shown Ino her body, Ino had stopped dieting. She had wanted to be what the society though was beautiful and she thought Sakura was because she was so thin. But when Ino had watched her take her shirt off, Ino had nearly barfed from the sight of her ribs sticking out. The blonde had then proceeded to shove food down both girls' throats, but Sakura had hardly gained much weight.

"I guess you're right, Ino. Thanks for always caring for me and always being there when no one else was. You are the most awesome best friend ever." Sakura said as she embraced her blonde friend tightly, who embraced her back, just not as tightly.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here. Two fake ass bitches embracing like a bunch of Lesbos. I always knew you two would make a great couple." A high pitched voice said while snickering. Ino glared over at the group of six people, three girls and three boys. It was the popular group that absolutely despised Ino and Sakura. They had all liked Ino up until she began to hang out with the 'pink forehead monster'.

Hinata Hyuuga was the leader of the group. She had pale skin, not as pale as Sakura's but still pale. Her hair was a dark blue color but you could see the hazel roots coming out. She had light gray eyes that had no pupil in them. She was wearing a beige colored ruffle skirt that was an inch above mid-thigh, white heels, a lavender tank top and a white cardigan. Her hair was curled to perfection and rested on her mid-back. She was wearing brown eye shadow, black eye liner, and dark blue mascara with ruby red lipstick.

Tenten Wantanabe was the like the little lackey of the group, only there because her family was rich. She had dark chocolate brown hair and caramel eyes. Her skin was a very tan color. She was wearing black mini skirt with a light green long sleeved top. On top of it was a gray jacket with the sleeves ending at her elbow. She was wearing dark blue pumps that made her legs look longer than they really were. Her hair flowed to her waist in a straight chocolate river. She had light pink lipstick, red blush, blue eye shadow, brown eyeliner, and black mascara.

Temari Sabaku was the fighter of the group. She had fair colored skin that brought out her teal eyes, that were also pupiless. She had sandy blonde hair. She was wearing a tight leather skirt that went mid-thigh and was a light blue color. She had on a silver tank top that clung to her like a second skin and a black mini jacket that stopped at her mid back and the sleeves at her elbows. She had on purple wedges. Her blonde hair was in waved down to her shoulder blades.

Sasori, Itachi, and Neji were the girls' personal slaves. Sasori belonged to Hinata, Itachi to Temari, and Neji to Tenten.

Ino made a face at them. "What do you six want?" she spat at them. Ino's blue eyes held a very threatening glare. She had never liked those people and more than likely never would, either.

Hinata sneered at her. Her eyes turned to Sakura who was trying to hide behind Ino. "Wow, so you finally decided to cut that mop of yours? When are you going to dye your back to its natural color?" She smirked when she saw Sakura's eyes water with unshed tears at the little comment. Unknown to them, though, Sakura was crying for a completely different reason. Her father, too, had made fun of her hair, saying that she should dye it because she didn't deserve it.

Ino snarled at the Hyuuga heiress in front of her. How dare she speak to her friend like that?! "OH YEAH!? YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK, YOU WHORE! YOUR NATURAL ROOTS ARE SHOWING!" Ino screeched at the shocked girl before slapping her face so hard, Hinata fell onto the ground. Ino stalked off as Hinata watched her, her hand on her cheek, eyes wide, and mouth hanging open.

"Ino, please, calm down. We are going to pass up our lockers." Sakura said, trying to keep the blonde human bomb calmed down enough for them to get their textbooks. Ino stopped before turning and dragging Sakura over to their lockers. Ino began to grumble to herself as she and Sakura did their combinations to their lockers. "Um… Ino, are you okay?" Sakura asked hesitantly. The blonde sighed as she ran her fingers through her ponytail.

"I guess. It's just they make me so ANGRY! Have you ever just wanted to bash someone's face in? It's like that, but 100 times stronger." Ino huffed as she grabbed her History textbook. She frowned down at it, not wanting to go to Asuma's class first. "You are so lucky that you have Kakashi first period, Sakura. I have Asuma and it's not very fun."

"Hey, Asuma is better than Gai, right?" Sakura asked with a small, cheeky grin. Ino laughed loudly at that, attracting attention from many people in the hallways. "I'll see you after class, Ino!" Sakura called while running down the hall. She heard a faint 'Bye, Sakura!' as she turned the corner and headed down the hallway. She stopped at the door of Kakashi's classroom and read the small sign by the door: **Kakashi Hatake Room 107 Math.** She felt a sigh wanting to pass her lips when she entered the room. It was empty, as always. Kakashi was always 30 minutes late and the students usually didn't get in for 25 minutes, leaving 5 minutes in between when the students came before the teacher. Sakura placed her head on the desk and felt her close, sleep overcoming her.

_ "Hey, I know you. Aren't you the girl everyone calls 'forehead'?" a small blonde girl asked while sitting in front of the crying pinkette. The smaller girl's body looked to be covered in cuts and bruises. "Hey, my name is Ino Yamanaka. What's yours?" The girl asked, hoping she would answer._

_ A small sniffle was heard as the pinkette lifter her head enough to where Ino could see her bright emerald eyes. "S-Sakura. My name is S-S-Sakura Har-runo." Sakura answered before rubbing the tears out of her eyes. She lightly flinched when she brushed the cut on her hand and felt the salt from the tears enter the wound. _

_ "Well Sakura, I'm going to be your best friend! Meet me here tomorrow, okay? I'm going to bring you something that you'll love!" Ino called over her shoulder as she waved to Sakura, who sat there in shock for a few minutes, not really knowing what to do._

_~The Next Day~_

_ "And… There! All finished!" Ino chirped as she finished tying Sakura's bangs back with a red silk ribbon. Sakura was looking at her in shock and happiness, wondering why the girl would be so nice to her. "Now Sakura, don't forget this; you are cute! Don't be a afraid to show it! As my mom always said, if you got it, flaunt it!" Ino said with a self confident smile. Sakura looked up at her while blinking in confusion. She understood the 'you are cute' part, but knitted her eyebrows at the 'if you got it, flaunt it!' part. She cocked her head to the side._

_ "Ano, Ino, what does 'if you got it, flaunt it!' mean?" Sakura asked her. Ino looked up at her and blinked. She scratched her chin, trying to find a way to tell her friend what she meant without confusing either one of them. But sadly, Ino's mother had never bothered to tell her what the saying actually meant. And know, here they were, trying to figure it out. "Ino, are you there? I asked you a question and you haven't said anything yet. Do you know what it means?" Ino snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Sakura's voice call out to her._

_ "Well, actually, Sakura, I don't really know what it means. My mom never really told me, so I guess we are both out of luck. Ahaha." Ino said before laughing nervously while scratching the back of her head and sweatdropping. Sakura giggled lightly while watching her best friend._

The sudden noise of a door being slammed open awoke Sakura from her memory of how her and Ino met. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to see Naruto with his girlfriend, Konan. "HEY SAKURA!" Naruto yelled while having his arms in the air like he just didn't care. (Lol. I so did not mean for that to happen :P) Sakura gave him a tired smile as she sat up and stretched her arms above her head with a loud yawn.

"Good morning, Sakura. Did you have a nice nap?" Konan asked with her amber eyes looking at her in amusement. Sakura nodded her in answer, still very tired. She closed her eyes again as the two sat in the desk next to her. As soon as sleep was about to claim her, the door opened again. Konan chuckled lightly at her annoyed look. "I don't think anyone wants Sakura to get some sleep today." She giggled softly when Sakura gave her a deadpanned look.

"Come on Sakura, we have to learn! No time for sleep! Naruto laughed as Sakura groaned and rolled her eyes. She just wanted some sleep, damnit! Was it really that hard!? Apparently when you are Sakura Haruno it is. She gave an annoyed sigh as she sat up and pulled out her notebook and pen to the notes Kakashi would always place on the board. Great. Today they were going to learn about how to find variables. She felt a frown trying to tug its way onto her face. Hadn't they already learned about that in, like, the 7th grade!? Well she did, at least. Couldn't say anything about everyone else if they are going over that in the middle of the year. She inwardly groaned at the idea of having to relearn all of this again. This was so not going to be a fun 25 minutes.

Sakura had nearly got on her knees and sang some weird song that praised the lord when the bell rang. The class had been so boring she had nearly fell asleep again. "We'll see you later, Sakura! We have art with Kurenia now!" Naruto said as he took Konan's hand and began walk down the hallway while swinging their hands back and forth.

"Bye Naruto! Bye Konan!" she yelled at them as she headed the opposite way to science with Jiraya. On the way there, she stopped by the girls' restroom and looked for Ino, who happened to be standing in front of the mirror at the time. "Hey Ino, hurry up, we need to head to class." Ino met Sakura's eyes in the mirror and grinned at her, her bright blue eyes showing mischief.

"Calm down, Sakura. I promise you, we won't be late. Just let me fix my hair really quick and we will go, okay?" Ino asked she pulled her brush out of her bag and pulled the rubber band from her hair, letting it fall to the back of her knees. She ran the brush through her hair, getting out ever knot and tangle while wincing a little every time she pulled a little too hard with the tangles as it practically ripped her scalp off. When she placed the brush back into the bag, she pulled out a few bobby pins and placed them into her mouth and began to braid her bang. She pulled out another rubber band that was smaller than the other one. She quickly tied her braid with the rubber band. She twisted all of her hair into a messy bun and tied it neatly on top of her head. With both hands, she wrapped the braid around one side of her head and placed the bobby pins at the end of it to keep it placed where it was. "Taadaa! I am all finished! Now we can head to class, Sakura!" Ino said while turning to her friend. Ino blinked. Sakura had pulled a random deck of cards from nowhere and was now making a tower of them.

"Oh, you finally done? I was wondering how long I would have to wait for you. Well then, let's go. I do not want to be late for class and get a detention… or to be late in getting home." Sakura whispered out the last part, her eyes going wide. Ino knew exactly what she meant and pulled Sakura up.

"Well then, let's hurry, shall we?" She asked with a wide grin. Sakura nodded while grabbing her sling bag and the two headed out the door. As soon as the door opened, the two ran out of the room at a very high speed while still managing to somehow dodge people and watching for which classroom was theirs. They ran into the science room quickly while sucking in air from running so fast. Jiraya was watching them with amusement as they nearly toppled over each other to get in the door. "We are here, Jiraya-sensei!" Ino said in between breaths.

"I can see that, Ino. Now, would you two please take you seats? I need to begin the class." The two girls nodded and took their seats in the back just as the bell rang. The two sent each other knowing grins before they pulled out their notebooks and pens and began to take notes from th board. Were they all only going to do notes or something? Guess so, because Ino said Asuma is having them take notes, too.

After class, Sakura and Ino met with Deidara in the hall, who was going to P.E. "So, how do you guys like taking notes? That's about all you do this week since there is a break coming up, yeah. It gets kind of boring after awhile." Deidara said with a smirk as he stood next to Ino, not wanting to be reduced to a stuttering mess in front of Sakura.

"Really? I thought taking notes was fun. Well silly me!" Ino responded sarcastically. Deidara sent her a glare. He was about to snap at her before Sakura interrupted.

"I'll be right back you guys. I forgot my history textbook." Sakura ran off in the direction of her locker while Deidara and Ino stood next to each other, blinking and then heading off in another direction without saying anything else. But they both headed to the same destination.

As Sakura did her combination, she felt a pair of eyes on her. Slightly unnerved, Sakura turned around, only to have a fist meet her cheek. She was thrown onto the ground from the force. Before she could do anything else, like opening her mouth or eyes, there was a heavy weight on top of her small stomach. She felt winded from the weight of the body sitting on her fragile frame and soon felt a sting in her other cheek. She was used to being beaten, so it didn't really hurt her much. The fists kept coming down on her, and hard, and soon, she saw her vision beginning to tunnel. "If you ever mess with Hinata again, bitch, you are going to get a worse treatment." Someone spat. She saw a flash of red before it disappeared from sight. Her breathing was becoming labored from all the punched she received on her stomach. She felt like was going to up chuck (vomit) soon if she didn't get to the bathroom in time. A few minutes later, she heard two pairs of feet pounding on the ground. "Sakura!" a male voice and female voice screamed at the same time. Her body seemed to register who they were before her mind, seeing as how her body immediately relaxed when she felt a pair of muscled arms pick her up bridal style and carry her off.

**This is chapter 1 of my new story! I will begin updating on it as soon as I finish 'How Weak Am I Now?' I have chapter 13 started, but I might have it posted tomorrow. Or Sunday. So be ready for it! Man, I am tired. Good night, awesome readers!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	2. Inner Sakura's appearance

My Sister's Best Friend

"_Ne, Ino, what's it like to have an older brother?" an eight year old Sakura asked as she looked at her best friend, who in turn scowled at the mention of her older brother. Ino had been going on and on about how she felt it was horrible to have an older brother who would never understand her. Deidara Yamanaka was his name and he was two years older than them, making him 10 years old._

"_It's not all that fun, Sakura. The idiot doesn't seem to understand that I don't like it when he chases me with bugs and mud on sticks or that I don't find his explosions, or 'art' in his words, cool. He just seems to thank that everything he likes, I must like also." Ino huffed while pushing her hair out of her face. For some weird reason, Sakura had kept bothering her on what it was like to have an older brother._

_Sakura turned her head to look at the trees at the edge of the meadow that full of flowers of every color. Reds, pinks, purples, whites, yellows, and many more dotted the scenery until tall, pine trees began to reach out for the sky that was dotted with fluffy white clouds. Sakura's emerald green orbs watched as a white cloud shaped like a dog's head passed above them before turning to look at Ino. "What I meant by that, Ino, was what is it like to never feel alone? I mean, if neither of your parents are home, you still have Deidara. All I have is my dad who is never home and when he is, he usually never pays me much attention, like a potato sack." Sakura mumbled the last part to herself, but Ino was still able to hear her._

_Ino's face immediately turned guilty, remembering what Sakura said about how her father would always ignore her when he was home, always blaming her for the death of her own mother. Ino couldn't even think of living a horrid life like that. She had to thank Sakura for letting her understand that she shouldn't take her family members for granted. Actually, Ino's relationship with her brother was beginning to improve because of Sakura. "Well, it's actually very fun. Sometimes older brothers can be very annoying and you just want to hit them, but they are also very carrying and defending. You would really love one, I can say that much for sure."_

"_Well, if it isn't the pink forehead monster and giant yellow pig." A shrill voice sneered form behind them. They looked over her shoulders and saw three different girls. One had short, purple hair and dark brown eyes, hazel hair with dark blue highlights and light grey eyes, and the last one with sandy blonde hair and teal eyes. Sakura's eyes began to water as the bullies walked closer to her and Ino. Ami's high pitched voice squeaked out "HAHA, she's crying! The forehead monster is crying! Maybe she is the forehead crybaby! HAHA!" Ami, Hinata and Temari began laughing at Sakura, who had a few tears spilling down her cheeks. Ino glared at the three in front of her._

"_Don't you have better things to do than to pick on other people!?" Ino screamed while standing up. "I bet you guys are just jealous that Sakura is much prettier than you three! So just leave us alone!" she continued while getting in their faces. Temari, who had never liked Ino in the first place, pushed her onto the ground really hard._

"_INO!" Sakura yelled, her voice full of worry as she ran to her best friend. "Are you okay?" she asked her friend when she noticed the small cuts Ino had received from being pushed into a patch of red roses. She glared up at Temari, who was smirking down at them. "You are such a jerk!" Sakura yelled while pushing a very shocked Temari. Her back hit the ground hard she winced when she heard a small 'pop'. Ino smiled brightly when she came over her shock; Sakura had actually _pushed_ someone down._

_Temari stood up and whipped the back of her hand across her lips and snarled. "Did you just push me!?" Her hands balled into fists when Sakura nodded her head. Sakura had had enough beatings from her father to not get hurt that much when someone hit her. "You are going to pay!" Temari screamed before her fist connected with Sakura's left cheek, the force strong enough to knock the smaller girl next to Ino. A purple-ish black mark began to form where her cheek bone was. "How does it feel, now, forehead monster!?" Temari laughed as she caught sight of the bruise forming. "Come on girls, let's leave these lowlifes here!" The two girls began to laugh with Temari as they left the girls on the ground._

"_Come on Sakura, let's go to my house. There I can clean our cuts and my daddy knows how to fix bruises. He's a doctor." Ino smiled at the end, knowing her father would help both of them with their injuries. Sakura nodded her head while holding her cheek, but no tears came out. She was taught at a young age to never cry when someone hits you, it only provokes them to do more damage than what they already did. "Hey, if you come to my house, you can meet my brother!" Ino said excitedly._

_Sakura's eyes lit up with joy and happiness. "Hey, Ino, do you think he will like me as a friend like you did?" Sakura asked as she helped Ino limp to her house. Making new friends always made her feel happy since new friends always meant that people accepted her. Emerald eyes were shinning with excitement._

"_Well, I'm not sure, exactly. When Ami, Hinata, Tenten, and I were friends he never really liked them. But they were also mean and never paid him much attention to begin with. They were always acting like snobs when he spoke to them to try and be their friend." Ino said while knitting her eyebrows together. It was true, Deidara never really like any of her friends, but she figured it had more to deal with their snobbish attitudes than anything else._

_Sakura looked downcast for a minute before her eyes held a strong determination. "Well, I was never like them and I never will be. I'm different from those girls because I don't like to bully people and not many people pay attention to me, either. I think us two would get along just great." Sakura said with a smile as Ino stared at her for the rest of the walk. Lucky for them, they didn't need to walk that far to her house._

"_Ok Sakura, be prepared to meet my family. They can be pretty crazy most of the time." Ino warned Sakura as she opened the front door. "Mom, dad! I'm home! And I brought a new friend with me that needs some help!" Sakura watched as they walked through a long hallway with wooden floors, Light blue walls, and crème colored ceiling into a large living room that had red velvet couches, pink love seats that were decorated with golden pillows, a brick fire place, gray walls, and lavender colored carpet. Three people were sitting in the couches. There was a woman with brown hair pulled into a tight bun on top of her head with light brown eyes wearing a teal dress on. Next to her was a boy that looked to be a little older than Sakura and Ino with golden hair and azure eyes with gray flecks in them wearing a gray t-shirt and a black jeans, looking at them both with bored eyes. And the last one on the couch was someone Sakura remembered very clearly. His dirty blonde hair was up in high ponytail and his blue-green eyes were looking at her with shock. It was Inoichi._

_Sakura tried her best to give him a smile, but tears threatened to fall at seeing him again. The memory of hearing about her mom dying was still fresh in her mind. "Hello again, Inoichi. How have you been?" Sakura asked while turning away from him. Inoichi didn't seem to mind, knowing the reason why she did._

"_I have been good. But I see you can't say the same for yourself." He replied while pointing to her cheek. Sakura nodded, but continued to look anywhere around the room that wasn't him. The rest of the family watched in confusion as the two gave a short exchange words._

"_Hey dad, how do you know Sakura?" Ino asked looking bewildered. That was a very shocking thing to see, your father and best friend conversing even though she hadn't known they knew each other. She heard a small sob come out of Sakura's mouth before two tear drops ran down her face and onto the carpet. "Sakura…?" Ino whispered while turning to look at her._

"_Ino… I don't think it would be very polite if we brought up how Sakura and I know each other. It's not a very good thing she would like to relive at the moment." Inoichi stated, hoping Ino would just drop it so Sakura wouldn't break down. Ino nodded and then perked up._

"_Well anyway, Sakura this is my mom, Rednai, and my older brother, Deidara. Mom, Deidara, this is my best friend Sakura that I've told you about." Rednai smiled at her and Sakura returned it. When she turned her head and locked eyes with the blonde, his face went red and he turned his eyes away, feeling butterflies in the pit of his stomach from her smile._

Sakura opened her eyes, blinking away the sleepiness from her bright emerald orbs. The second she moved her arm to rub her eyes, seven different colored flashes ran across her vision. Gray, orange, dark sky blue, red, and three different colors of yellow before seven pairs of eyes were looking at her. Violet, gray, amber, red, and three different types of blue were shinning with worry as she looked up at them. It was Hidan, Pein, Konan, Karin, Deidara, Ino, and Naruto. "Sakura, are you okay, yeah? You were on the ground when we found you out by your locker. Your arms and face are pretty badly bruised." Deidara asked, his voice filled with worry. It was something to expect from him, always caring about her. Hidan and Ino's eyes met again and a small smirk pulled at their lips before they returned their attention to the injured girl lying on the bed.

"I've felt better, but I think I can survive. How long have I been out, exactly?" She asked as she tried to sit up. With her arm bruised as bad as it was, she only managed to put barely any weight on it before falling down. Deidara helped her as he noticed her attempting to do it again. "Thank you, Deidara." She spoke with a small smile that had Deidara's cheeks a nice shade of red.

"You have been out for at least half an hour, Sakura. Someone beat you up really bad. Did you get to see who it was? Deidara and I didn't see anyone there when we found you." Ino said with a worried look. The image of Sakura on the ground with bruised arms and legs while eyes were looking at her as if she couldn't really see anything was still vivid in her mind. She had been freaking out too much to help Deidara carry Sakura to the office.

Sakura knitted her eyebrows together as she tried to conjure up the image of someone trying to hurt her and a flash of red went across her line f vision as a soft voice echoed '_If you ever mess with Hinata again, bitch, you are going to get a worse treatment.' _Recognition flashed across her face as she put two and two together. "It was Sasori. He was the one that beat me up and he threatened to do worse if I ever mess with Hinata again." Sakura stated while bringing up her knees to her chest, her eyes wide and scared. Her body began to shake and everyone looked at her worried.

"Don't worry, yeah! If he wants to get to you, he is going to have to go through me first! I won't let anyone hurt you!" Deidara proclaimed happily as he wrapped Sakura into a hug. His face began to turn to a tomato color when he realized what he was doing. As he was about to pull away, he felt tiny arms wrap around his waist and someone's face go into the crook of his neck. Everyone who was watching were trying to contain their snickers (guys) or their giggles (girls) at the sight of Deidara trying to outdo a cherry in color. He sent a glare to Konan who was squealing like a fan girl.

"Anyway, I think we should get back at Sasori for what he did to my little Cherry." Karin cooed while patting Sakura's head. The pinkette's eyes widened at the idea of getting back at the male. That would cause him to try and hurt her worse, something she and Ino knew from experience. It was back in the 6th grade when she had snapped and her Inner had taken over. In the time span of five minutes, she had reduced Sasori to a pulp on the ground with Ino as her only witness. It was after Sasori came back that had trapped Sakura in the hallway and beat her worse, adding bruises to her already bruised body.

"Hey, speaking of Sasori and that group, why do they hate you so much, Sakura? I mean, it's like they all hate you because you just walked into school." Pein asked, looking very curious. It was like they all wanted her dead and on the floor just because she walked around in their space. Everybody noticed the way Sakura stiffened in Deidara's arms and how Ino's face darkened, a snarl pulling her lips.

"They used to tease Sakura when she was younger because she had a wide forehead and pink hair. They all thought she was below them because she was different from how everyone else looked. I used to be friends with them but they were such snobby bitches whenever they saw Sakura, it got on my nerves. I befriended her one night after they left and I could tell she was scared. The next day, when I was running around the park with Sakura, they all saw me and decided I was too low if I was hanging out with her. And when Hinata found out Deidara liked Sakura better than her, she hated her. Hinata has always had a crush on Deidara and it would get on my nerves when she came over. That was the only reason she became my friend." Ino growled. Yes, even though Hinata and Sasori were dating, Hinata liked Deidara. Said male shivered at the thought of the bratty girl.

"I would never date her, yeah. She is such a snob that I don't even see how many people like her." Deidara sneered.

"It's because the bitch has a sack load of money. Everybody only wants to be her friend because of her money. Duh." Hidan stated blandly. Not even he would want to be her friend because of money, though. The girl was too annoying, fawning over every male that walked around the school. The girl really was a sense of rude and bitchiness. Hidan was very overprotective of his friends, Sakura included. That girl was really nice and tried so very hard to have friends, but it seemed impossible for anyone to come near her.

"Well, how about we talk about revenge later? We all have class right now and I don't know about you guys, but I would rather not have homework tonight." Deidara stated while helping Sakura off the bed. "And I can take Sakura to her class. We both have to walk down the same hallway, anyway and I don't mind taking her. I will see you guys at lunch." He proclaimed before walking out with Sakura's arm around his shoulder and his around her waist. Everyone waved them off while Ino and Hidan secretly high fived each other.

"Deidara, you don't have to do this, you know? I can walk on my own." Sakura stated softly, trying to pull away. His grip tightened around her waist and he pulled her more onto him. He flashed her his customary grin.

"I know I don't have to do this but that doesn't mean I don't want to, Sakura. There is a difference between having to do something and wanting to do something, you know." Sakura stared up at him in wonder as if he was a god sent from above and asking her to join him in everlasting life. Deidara felt a little unnerved as they walked down the long, while hallways, their footsteps hitting the linoleum and echoing in their ears. "Why are you looking at me like that? It feels weird, yeah."

Sakura promptly snapped out of her daze when she heard his deep voice. A small, pink blush decided her cheeks would be the perfect spot to live and had to turn her head away from his deep, blue eyes that held a questioning spark in them. She shifted her shoulders uncomfortable as they passed a window, the hall turning a little darker when a fluffy, white cloud passed over the sun and blocked the bright orange rays. "W-well, it's ju-ust no one has e-ever said that t-to me before, y-you know? Just kind of shocked." She muttered, her eyes flashing to his face and away when she saw he was still looking at her, not noticing a gentle and warm glow in them as he held her tighter with the arm around her waist.

"Well someone should. You are too nice for people to be treating you like trash, yeah." He said while searching past the bangs that spilled over her face like a short, pink waterfall. He caught the grin lightly playing on her lips and felt his heart soar with happiness and something else that told him _your heart would soar with just seeing her. _He felt the warmth try to make a place on his cheeks, but wouldn't allow it to rest there. He would _not blush in front of Sakura. _"I bet people are just jealous that they can't be as pretty as you. You make a princess look like a toad, yeah."

Sakura's blush became more evident on her face as she took in what he said along with the serious look on his face. His words sent small bundles of butterflies to the pit of her stomach, dancing with each other as they did back flips. Well, wouldn't you if people have been teasing you and beating you for most of your life and someone suddenly told you that they pretty much thought of you as beautiful? Yup, thought so. "Thank you." She muttered so softly, Deidara didn't know if she really said it or if it was just him imagination. At the small smile she turned to give him, he knew he heard it. "We are here, Deidara." Sakura said while stopping.

"Huh?" Deidara stated dumbly while staring at her with an eyebrow raised. Sakura gave a small giggle and pointed to something over her shoulder. As he turned to it, he felt a rush of heat place itself on his cheeks in embracement. In front of them was a wooden door with a name tag next to it saying: **Asuma Sarutobi, Room 112, Social Studies.** "Oh, hehe, sorry." He said while walking to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted with an annoyed pair of brown eyes and black spiky hair.

Asuma took a drag of the cigarette placed between his lips, his eyes scanning over the two people who just walked in the door, not really caring about the glares Sakura was receiving from all the Deidara fan girls. "Mr. Yamanaka, you left this class last year. Now _why _are you here with Ms. Haruno? And Ms. Haruno, why are you late?" he crossed his arms and glared at them both.

Deidara scowled at the older man, slightly annoyed that he didn't bother to the bruises from Sakura's raised sleeves. He mentally scoffed; nobody but his group of friends even liked Sakura, much less cared about the condition she was in. He glared right back at the bearded man and when he spoke, venom was in his voice. "Well, if you must know, Sakura was jumped by a student a she passed out from the beating. The people in the office refused to let her go home or to call her dad and said she would be alright. And maybe you need a pair of glasses, old man, because you obviously can't see big bruises on people!" To help with his statement, he pointed at Sakura's rolled up sleeved, her pale, thin arms sporting purple and black and in between spots on her the size of a golf ball.

Asuma rolled his eyes before they travelled down her arm. He flinched lightly when he saw how her bones poked out and how pale her skin was. The bruises were so hard to miss, he began to take up Deidara's advice about getting glasses, especially when the sun light hit her and all the bruises seemed to sparkle as her skin turned a pale yellow. The girl was one of the most hated people, and yet she was smiling. Always smiling. Even now he could see her lips tugging upward just that much. He vaguely began to wonder why she cut her hair and noticed how much of a dull pink it was. It was then he began to wonder just how many bruises were caused by a someone from school.

Asuma let out a long sigh before pointing to her seat. Deidara nodded while helping Sakura limp over, glaring at ever girl who gave her dirty looks. They would back down the second they saw him looking and would immediately flip their hair over their shoulder, trying to look and act all cute. He just scoffed at them before walking away. "You gonna be alright?" He whispered lightly as he helped to ease Sakura into her seat. Back row, far left, no one beside her. His scowl deepened. What was it with people and hating her? She nodded her head slightly while giving him a shy smile. He beamed down at her before he stood up to leave, ruffling her hair.

Asuma watched as the blonde male left, and felt amused as blue eyes turned to look over at the pink haired girl, instantly warming with a look softer than a teddy bear. When Deidara finally decided it would be a good time to leave, Asuma turned to the class. "Okay, now does everyone have pencil and paper ready? Yes? Then let's begin where we left off. Now, in 1941, the U.S. joined World War II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7th…" he trailed off, going on and on about what happened in World War II (Fun Fact: My grandpa was 17 when he fought in the war and he is still alive XD) Every word he would say, Sakura would copy it down, but her mind was all over the place. She was a great daydreamer and it's what she loved to do. While her hand was copying down something about 1942, her mind wandered to when Deidara had walked into the living room looking for Ino but finding her instead.

_Sakura hummed lightly, her legs swinging on the couch a little as she waited for Ino, who was trying to get the gum that Ami had placed in her hair while at school today with her mother. "Ino, are you in here?" a young, squeaky yet slightly deep asked as a boy with golden hair walked in. _Deidara,_ her mind had told her quickly. The young male stopped short when he saw her and his cheeks seemed to be a bright red color. "Oh… err… Sakura, hi. Have you… seen Ino anywhere?" he asked while shifting his weight from one leg to the other._

_Sakura hummed gently again before speaking, her voice barely a whisper. "She is up in her bedroom with her mom. Ami put gum in her hair while at school today and they are trying to get it out." She tilted her head so she was looking up at the ceiling, still humming slightly. "Hmm?" she said when she heard Deidara mumble something under his breath, turning to look over at him._

_His face was near a red that Sakura didn't think was even possible for someone to have. He was thanking every god up there she hadn't heard what he said. "Nothing!" he squeaked out, turning to head up the stairs, one foot jutted out on the tip of his toes, the other perfectly on the carpeted floor. "I'm going to go see Ino! I'll talk to you later!" he called over his shoulder before shooting off like a rocket. Sakura blinked, looking very confused before shrugging and going back to her humming while staring at the ceiling, mulling over what Deidara had mumbled a second ago._

The loud sound of a bell ringing brought her out of her memories. "Okay, will we continue taking noted tomorrow. And don't be late." At the pointed look Sakura received from Asuma, she felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she half walked, half limped from the class. She was so glad to see Hidan standing outside the door, one foot and pressed to the wall, arms crossed over his slightly exposed chest and a bored look on his face. His class was just down the hall, the one his cousin teaches, and he would usually wait for her outside the class.

"Yo." He called, a grin tugging his lips upward as he waved to her. His magenta eyes caught side of a flash of red in peripheral vision and he turned his head just enough to catch sight of maroon skinny jeans and a teal shirt on Sasori as he glared at Sakura, who was now noticeably closer to Hidan when she also caught sight of the aggravated male. "How about I take you to your next class? It's Kurenia, the crackette right?" He asked Sakura. The girl nodded, a slight giggle escaping her lips from the nickname.

"I don't think Kurenia does drugs, Hidan. Just because she never makes any sense or pays attention doesn't mean she snorts crack." Hidan gave her a disbelieving look, not noticing the longing glance of a girl with brown hair. "Okay, okay, so maybe she does do it sometimes, but that doesn't mean she always does it." Sakura huffed lightly, crossing her arms. She heard Hidan give a snort of amusement as they continued on. "Say, Hidan, most people have crushes on someone who is related to their best friend. Do you like Ino?" she asked, looking like the epitome of innocence.

Hidan promptly choked on his own spit as he nearly tripped over his own two feet. He stared down at the smaller girl next to him, his eyes wide and filled with shock, his mouth slightly dropped and his cheeks held a red tint to them as Sakura waited for the answer. It took a few minutes for Hidan to comprehend just exactly _what _she had said and he felt his mouth do dry as he looked for words. "What gave you t-_that _ idea?" he asked incredulously, his voice holding a slight squeak to it, very much different from his strong, loud voice.

Sakura shrugged nonchalantly as if she had just commented about her favorite color- which was red, by the way- and tilted her head to the ceiling, her favorite way to think when she wasn't writing on class. "I don't know. You _are_ Deidara's best friend and since you guys seem to hang out more at his house than yours, I just figured you liked Ino so you decided to hang out there more so you could get closer to her, you know? Oh, we are here! Bye Hidan!" Sakura chirped quietly, leaving a gaping Hidan at the door to watch her prance into the room, humming slightly.

"Gooood morning Saakuuuraaa~" Kurenia sang as Sakura walked into the room. She paused for a second to look at her English teacher. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Kurenia's eyes bloodshot and her pupils dilated too much in this light. Her usual maroon colored eyes were now a bright red and Sakura had to wonder just _what _her teacher did at night and on weekends. Kurenia's grin widened as she clapped a little. "Today we are going to… uhhh… going to…" she trailed off, her words slurring together as she tried to remember what they were that day. "Oh, yeah!" she said with a small giggle. "I forgot to get things ready so it's free period! Woohoo!" she jumped in the air a little while Sakura walked to her desk, too scared to talk with her teacher any more.

As she sat in her seat- back row, far left again- Sakura heard the slight squeak of protest as she put the weight of her books on the desk. She let a small sigh pass her lips as she stared down at the desk, names and threats carved into it with a pocket knife, gum under the seat, rocks a lot when you push more weight to one side than the other, dirty, and just all around something you didn't want to use. She bit her lip as tears pooled into her eyes. Not even her teachers cared for her. **No one cared for her. **_You're wrong. Deidara, Ino, Hidan, Naruto, Konan, Karin, and Pein care. _A small voice whispered from the back of her head. A small smile graced her lips as her Inner talked to her about how she was beautiful and cared for. It was after her mother had died and father had begun regular beatings that Sakura heard her Inner, who had a voice and personality like her mother's.

"Well, doesn't _someone _look happy today. Busy seducing Deidara in the bathroom or something, pink slut?" a high-pitched voice sneered. Sakura turned her head and saw three shadows standing in front of her. Hinata was giving her a nasty glare that promised bad things were to come. Next to her, Temari was giving a dangerous smirk that showed no mercy. Behind them, Tenten was biting her lip, her eyes darting back and forth before she set her back straight and pulled her lips into a snarl.

Sakura fidgeted under their watchful, observing glares. "What do you three want now?" She whispered, her voice showing how scared she felt when in the presence of the three girls. She turned her eyes downward, not wanting to look at them as they plotted a way to embarrass in class today. Hinata's glare became more hate filled while Temari's smirk became more cruel and Tenten's snarl became more excited.

"I don't know. How about we…" Hinata trailed off her, index finger going to her chin with a thoughtful look on her face. When Sakura lifted her head to look at her, Temari poured a bottle of juice all over hair, making the pink locks sticky. Sakura's eyes glazed over as tears began to spill down her face, her classmates laughing at her. "Does the wittle baby need her juicy box." Hinata asked as if she was talking to a baby, causing everyone to laugh harder, even Kurenia.

Inner was going off in her head and Sakura began t see red. This wasn't good. "SCREW YOU!" her Inner screamed while standing up. Hinata, who had been expecting her to run out, had stopped laughing, her wide with shock. "JUST BECAUSE DEIDARA LIKES ME MORE DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO ACT ALL BITCHY!" Sakura stomped out of the room, her eyes a livid dark forest green. Everyone would immediately move out of her way, not wanting to look at her scary eyes.

_ Sakura, honey, are you okay? _She heard her Inner's soft, gentle voice ask her. She nodded her head while whipping away the tears from her red, blotchy face. Her pink hair was a shade darker than it usually was from the juice that was poured on her hair. She ran her hands through it, her fingers getting caught in the fruit scented tangles. She spent the rest of fourth period trying to get the fruity drink from her hair and clothes. Sakura reached for her sling bag on the crème tiled floors and looked for anything that could help. She smiled when she saw an extra pair of gray sweat pants and a green hoodie.

When the lunch bell rang, Sakura timidly stepped out of the bathroom, her short locks up in a messy bun to keep from getting her new clothes wet. Her head was bowed low, too afraid to look anyone in the eye. After what her Inner did in fourth, there was no doubt rumors going around about her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a muscled arm wrap around her shoulder, hoping and praying it wasn't Sasori or anyone from Hinata's gang. Golden hair feel into her line of vision and she turned her head to be met with the prettiest pair of blue-gray eyes. "Hey there, chick. I heard about what you did in Kurenia's class. Good job."

Sakura gave a shy smile, happy to know it was Deidara than anyone else. "Thank you, but I just kind of snapped, you know?" Sakura asked, her voice barely above its usual whisper. Deidara nodded, his arm tightening around her shoulders as he caught sight of Itachi and Neji looking at Sakura, _waiting for Sakura to be alone. _He sent them a glare, telling them with his eyes to back off or be hurt. Neji gave his famous Hyuuga glare while pushing off the wall he was leaning on and walking down the hallway, Itachi following a few paces behind him, his eyes still trained on the pink haired female.

Deidara was brought out of his little glaring fest with the two when he heard a soft growl to his left. His head slowly turned to face the girl pressed into his side, his smirk holding an amused tone to it while blue eyes help a sort of curious amusement. Sakura's face couldn't have been any redder if she tried. "Hungry?" Deidara asked her. Sakura bit her lip slightly and turned her head away, nodding just a slight amount. He gave a soft chuckle, one that barely tickled the skin of her neck. "No need to be embarrassed, Sakura. Everyone gets hungry. Do you any money?" He scowled when she shook her head no. "Well don't worry, I can buy you something."

Her head snapped in his direction and Deidara felt the breath in his throat hitch. Their noises were almost touching. She was close, _so close_. Her lips look so beautiful, so gorgeous he could just kiss them. He was about to when her lips just barely parted before her light voice snapped him out of it. "It's fine Deidara, you don't have to buy me anything. I don't want to be a burden to you." Her eyes help a sort of pleading sadness, showing him she didn't really want him to buy her lunch. He looked at them for a second before smirking.

"No, no Sakura. That isn't how you treat you a friend who is in need of help. I told you before, there is a difference between wanting to help someone and having to help someone. I _want _to help you, so I'm buying your food no matter what you say." He ignored all over her protests as they continued on to the lunch room, pressing her into his side more. He pushed the big doors open to reveal a gray linoleum floor, wooden tables with eight chairs each, a long line with people waiting for their food, and a light rose colored walls. "So, what do you want to eat? And get as much as you want, I'm paying."

Sakura noticed how he eyed her skin and the bones sticking out from her uncovered wrist. She tried to pull the sleeve over it, feeling self-conscious. He hated how people would stare at her with those kind of eyes, hating how underfed she was because of her father. Hating her father for what he did to her. When Sakura and Deidara began to walk past the food, Sakura chose a cheeseburger, fries, and an apple with a water to drink. True to his word, Deidara paid for both of their meals and gave her his fries. "You need them more than I do, Sakura." He stated with a stern look on his face as she began to protest. She lightly winced, knowing he was talking about her protruding bones. "Hey guys, what's up?" he asked as he placed his tray down and sat in front of it, Sakura next to him.

"What's it look like, nimrod? We are eating lunch." Ino snapped at him in her 'duh' tone of voice. She wasn't in good mood after hearing the rumors about what happened between Hinata and Sakura in Kurenia's class. "Sakura, are you okay? Did that fake ass bitch hurt you?" She asked in a much softer tone. She only nodded her response, chowing down on the food in front of her.

"Someone must be hungry." Hidan drawled, looking slightly amused as Sakura had a fry stuck between the seam of her lips. Everyone laughed as at her while she blushed lightly. She sent a small glare to Hidan before continuing on with her lunch. "Hey, is it true? About you having a second mind I mean. I heard about what happened with Hinata and Ino said you have this thing called an 'Inner'." He asked, his eyes wide with excitement.

Sakura sent a small glare to Ino while Sakura's face flushed lightly. She swallowed the bite of cheeseburger before she answered. "Yes, it is. Though Ino wasn't supposed to tell anyone about it." Another glare was sent Ino's way, who was laughing nervously, her fingers scratching the backside of her neck. Everyone looked at Sakura, their eyes shining with curious amazement.

"Wow. That sounds so cool! Is that how you were able to beat up Sasori in the 6th grade!? I just thought that was you not holding anything back!" Naruto voiced everyone's thoughts, his smile wide while blue eyes seemed to shine bluer than usual. Sakura bit her bottom lip lightly, her fingers pressed together in a nervous way as everyone stared at her.

A small sigh finally escaped her lips. "Yes, it is. Ino was the only one who knew at the time so she was the only one who knew how bad it was to get me mad. She actually had to tear me away from Sasori, seeing as how he was nearly a bloody pulp. That was the reason he joined with Hinata, to get back at me." Her voice sounded like a faint whisper, hardly noticeable if you didn't pay attention.

Karin gave her a low whistle of appreciation, her eyes looking at her wearily. "Man, that must be some physco in your head, Saki, because she must be super strong to take down _Sasori._" Karin pushed up her glasses, a small smirk gracing her lips. Sakura gave a shy smile before chowing down again, everyone else continuing on with their conversation.

Ino groaned next to Sakura, her sling over her shoulders as they made their way to the gym for fifth period. She hated gym with a passion, never like getting sweaty and her hair frizzing all over the place. She gave the smaller pinkette next to her a jealous look, her face green with envy. "You are so lucky you don't have to do gym, you know that?" Her voice dripped with annoyance; why couldn't she sit out with Sakura?!

"Ino, I'm not lucky and you know that. You know the _real _reason I can't do gym." Sakura mumbled, her voice soft with depression, her vibrant eyes darkened with a sad loneliness only she felt. Ino felt something pull at her heartstrings then, the sad look enough to wrap her arms around her best friend and try to keep her from the dangers of the world; but she too late, much too late for that. Her mother had died when she was a young girl and her father beat her.

"I am taking you home today, okay? I don't care what you say, you are much too thin to be walking. And Deidara will carry you if decline the invitation, so there really is no choice for you in the subject." Ino stated proudly, her posture straighter. Sakura was glad for the change in subject, even if it did involve her way of getting home.

"Fine, but only if you agree to not stop anywhere and drop me off first. You know my dad doesn't like it when I get home late." Sakura muttered, her eyes trained on Ino's face. Said blonde nodded while bulling her hair from the bun, keeping her pale bangs in the braid. She stretched out the rubber band on her wrist while pulling her long locks into a ponytail.

"Don't worry, Saku. I promise I won't be late with getting you home. You have my word!" Ino chirped while letting the ponytail end at her waist. Sakura gave her a look as they entered the gym, the last class of the day. "I'll see later! I have to go change!" she called while running to the girl's locker room. Sakura nodded her head and sat down on the bench. While the rest of the class played dodge ball, Sakura sat out. But it still felt like she was in the game, as most people deliberately aimed the red, rubber balls at her, no mercy.

Sakura stood outside, waiting for Ino to come out with Hidan and Deidara. She closed her eyes as the sun's warmth prickled her skin. The scents of oak, maple, pine, and cherry blossom filled her nostrils as she took a deep breath. For once in her life, Sakura felt oddly calm and happy, like nothing could hurt her. Her muscles loosened at the breeze waved past her, picking up small strands of candy colored hair, the pink locks dancing on the wind. She felt cold as something covered up the orange ball of heat. She opened her eyes, the green showing slight annoyance as she caught sight of a white, fluffy cloud trailing its way across the blue sky.

"Sa-ku-ra, are you ready to go?" Ino purred next to her ear. Sakura jumped slightly as she turned to face Ino with Hidan and Deidara standing right behind her, amused smirks in place. Sakura nodded her head, her bright orbs turning upward to catch a glimpse of the bright orange ball playing across a blue canvas, white shapes flying around it. Her smile showed something that was hard to identify, her eyes flashing with what said _beautiful. _Ino nearly choked on her spit when she saw that face. The only other time she saw it was when Sakura spotted a green butterfly in the fields they ran around in when they were growing up.

"Let's not wait all day, ne? Have places to be, Ino." Sakura muttered quietly, wanting to get home soon. Ino snapped out of her revere and nodded her head, walking over to her car with the other three behind her.

"Now, you two, I must get Sakura here home early, so that means no stopping anywhere and she is also the first person we take home. And no whining or complaining either, because I won't listen to it." Ino cooed as she buckled her seat belt and turned the silver colored key in the ignition. Sakura giggled as the two began to shout protests that fell on deaf ears, as Ino paid them no mind while humming and driving down the road to her house.

Sakura looked up when they arrived on her street and felt her throat clench tightly as her leg muscles spasm. Ino began to drive slower as she also caught sight of the person at the door. His blue eyes were glaring anything as sharp as it could toward their car as they pulled to a stop in front of the house. His arms were crossed over his chest, his face the same color as his hair. A slight whimper escaped Sakura as she saw the way her father clenched his fists. When she opened the door and moved to step out, Ino's arm darted and caught her wrist. She shook her 'no' as she gently pulled away, beginning to head to her house, to her enraged father. The two males exchanged slightly confused and worried glances when they heard Ino mumble Sakura's name sadly.

"Get. In. The. House. **Now.**" Her father harshly whispered, voice dripping with malice and hate as she quickly ran past him. The door slammed shut, hard enough for a few cracks to form in the wall, Making Sakura flinched lightly. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?" her father hollered, bringing his palm to her cheek. Sakura gave a soft sob as she hit the ground, her hand quickly heading to the bright welt that was forming on her cheek. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST COME HOME LATE?!" a punch on her stomach this time, her blood running a light river down the side of her lips. "WITH TWO BOYS IN THE CAR, NO LESS!" He stomped his foot harshly on her calf, nearly breaking it as Sakura gave a quiet sob that was filled with pain. For the next half hour, Sakura had to endure her father beating her, the bruises and cuts and welts and twisted bones as he screamed in her face, the smell of alcohol burning her nostrils. "Get to bed, you pink whore. And don't expect anything to eat for breakfast for getting home late." Her father stated, finally out of his horrible mood, while throwing her onto her bed.

In Sakura's half state of mind, she was able to see a golden butterfly flit through her window, the colors of magenta and pink and orange in the sky playing a backdrop for it as it landed on her drawers. The wings would seem to bounce up a little, as though it was about to fly off in a second and she caught a glance of a light blue color on its wing. Her body seemed to relax as she watched the butterfly jump from the wooden top and bat its wings, heading for the window and into the magenta colored backdrop. She saw black as her vision began to tunnel, though oddly she felt relaxed, she felt like she could be free for once. Free of everything that was holding her back, free of the pain and alcohol and bruises and sore muscles and bones and anything else her father would do to her.

That night, butterflies seemed to bounce around her head as settled into the soft warmth of her bed.

**Anyone else think this was a long chapter? Just me? And I have an idea for this story: Every chapter will end with Sakura sleeping so the next chapter can begin with her dreaming of things that happened to her in the past. And I will have mini little flashbacks to show how shy Deidara was when around Sakura.**


	3. Tide and A Movie

My Best Friend's Brother

_ "Uh, Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked as she watched the eight year old pinkette running around the street. They were heading over to the meadow today, and for some reason, Sakura was acting very hyper. It was beginning to scare Ino, actually. But she also couldn't help the feeling of gratefulness and happiness that washed over her when she looked at her friend._

_ Sakura turned around, her eyes shining with more life and happiness she had ever seen. Her smile was wide, nearly splitting her face in half. She had a slight bounce to her step that had Ino feeling happy for whatever made her like this. It was a rare thing for Sakura to be so happy that Ino just took it with wide smiles. She wished Sakura was like this every day, never having to cry. "You mean you don't know, Ino!?" Sakura asked with a slight disbelief undertone. Ino's eyebrows knitted together, her bright blue orbs swimming in confusion, her lips tugging into a small scowl as she shook her head. Sakura's head turned away from her then, opting to look over the horizon, her smile getting brighter. "It's the day the butterflies come out at the meadow. My mommy once told me that butterflies are the symbol for freedom! That nothing can hold them down while they fly to their hearts desire." She gave a dreamy sigh, stopping on the sidewalk to wait for her best friend. _

_ Ino turned to face the giddy girl, wondering how she could be so happy for butterflies. She shook her head lightly, a small smile playing at her lips as she fell into step with the younger girl. "You're so weird, Sakura. You get excited over the smallest of things now a days. You know, sometimes you get a little too excited for things like this." _I wish I was like you, _Ino added in her head as she watched different emotions play on Sakura's face for a few minutes before her eyebrows knitted together, trying to understand what was so wrong about getting excited over butterflies. _

_ "But, Ino… what's so wrong about excited for butterflies? My mommy said that it was okay to be happy over the smallest of things. She said you don't really understand something or someone until you have seen everything in their eyes. She told me that once you have seen the bad things of the world, you begin to really get excited over the little things because then you know there is hope left in the bad world. That nothing is permanent." Sakura asked, a thoughtful look on her face during her entire speech. The light of the sun was bouncing off her hair, making a halo of pink just rise above her head. Her eyes seemed to shine a brighter green in the sunlight, showing flecks forest green. And to Ino, it felt like she was looking at and listening to an angel._

_ "Wow." Ino breathed, her bright eyes holding only amazement. Her feet were just brushing the grass and flowers of the meadow, absently feeling a pink milkweed brush her ankle. The usually colorful meadow full of flowers had only a few colors now, and those were orange, black, and dark green. Butterflies were flying around everywhere, landing on the flower petals before pushing off and going to another flower. "It's so…" she paused for a second, trying to find the right words to describe the scene in front of her, "Beautiful." She finally whispered. An orange butterfly flitted over to her and landed on her arm. She stared at it, looking amazed as its wings seemed to lightly cut through the air. _

_ Sakura giggled cutely, noticing the way Ino's eyes lit up with happiness as the butterfly landed on her arm. She skipped into the field, smiling widely as the butterflies seemed to follow her movements. She felt free, happy, _safe_. Something she hasn't felt in awhile, not since her mommy's death. "Do you understand now, Ino, why I was so happy to come here in the first place?" Sakura asked when the blonde was next to her. The little orange, fragile creature flew around their vision, momentarily hiding them behind a curtain or bright, colors. _

_ Ino nodded her head, stretching her arm out to catch more. A trio of butterflies landed on her pale skin softly, as though the skin would be pierced with even the smallest of things. As their legs brushed over her arm, Ino felt slight tickling vibrations go up and down her skin. Ino noticed a slight yellow dust on her skin where the orange creatures had patted a soft trail. _Pollen, _she thought absently. "Sakura, how did you know which day the butterflies came out?" She turned to her ecstatic friend who was dancing around, little orange wings flapping to keep up with her._

_ "My mommy would bring me here every day until I was seven. She has the date marked on the calendars at home and I looked to see when it was and then marked it on my calendar. I wanted to show you, too, since you are my best friend. Only my true friends can see the world's beautiful secrets that it keeps hidden." Sakura grinned, humming gently as she picked up a batch of pink roses. "My mommy said that people don't see the beauty in the world because they never look past where they are standing. Many secrets lay hidden beneath the surface, but people are too scared to look with the fear of getting hurt." _

_ Ino stared at Sakura in wonder, feeling something like respect in the pit of her stomach for her best friend, amazed that the girl knew so much. A cool breeze went past them and brushed her hair from her shoulders and into her eyes. Pale yellow clouded her vision for a second, as she thought over what Sakura has said. She could hear the slight flapping of wings as they passed her ear. Ino lay down on the ground, her arms behind her head, crossing one foot over the other. "Ne, Sakura, when can I meet your mom?" Ino asked innocently, her eyes half lidded._

_ The smile on Sakura's face faded and her body froze. She lightly bit her bottom lip, her green sapphire eyes darting from one flower to a butterfly and back. She felt Ino's intense gaze on her back as she waited for answer. "Uhh… You… can't" Sakura said, pausing every word to keep her voice steady, already feeling tears welling up. "She… died. When I was seven years old." Her throat suddenly felt dry and scratchy, her head was pounding and she felt faint. "Your daddy was her doctor and that is how I know him. Ino, I don't feel well." Sakura mumbled softly, taking a step back as the world seemed to turn in every direction. _

_ Ino, who was momentarily frozen in shock from the fact that her father had been Sakura's mother's doctor, snapped out of it quickly and made ran to grab Sakura before she fell on the ground. Her eyes were a dull color, not really seeing anything and Ino could see the pulse of her heart beat in her temple. Her mouth was open, but only enough for air to pass through the parted pieces of flesh. Her skin looked a shade paler and Ino began to freak a little. "Oi! Sakura! Are you okay!? Sakura!" She began to freak out even more when Sakura's eyes began to close, her breathing evening out a little. _

_ When Sakura awoke, two colors of yellow were blocking her vision. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion; all she could see were colored blurs. "Sakura! Can you hear me!?" a voice asked, sounding far away. Sakura blinked and rubbed her eyes with a fist, trying to get a better sense of awareness. As the colors finally turned into shapes, Sakura was able to make out the bodies of Ino and Deidara, both of who looked very worried. "Sakura, can you hear me?" Ino asked again, not as panicked as before. _

_ Sakura nodded her head slightly, swiveling her head around to get a good look at where she was. Dark purple walls, a crème colored doll house with five Barbies, a dark maple desk with cushioned chairs and a mirror in front of it, a large, walk-in closet, and she felt something silky in between her fingers. She looked down and noticed it was a light blue comforter with white abstract designs. Ino's room. "Ino, why am I in your room? And why is Deidara in here, too?" No one noticed, but his cheeks stained a light red color when she mentioned his name, sending a bucket of flip flops in his stomach to bounce around. _

_ "Well, while we were at the meadow, you suddenly passed out. I was gonna have my dad help you, but no one else was home except Deidara. He knows more about this stuff than I do, so I figured it would be better to have him help you than me. But anyway, how are you? Are you okay? Do you feel faint or sick?" Ino asked, her blue emerald eyes shining in worry. Her heartbeat was slowing, though, back to its regular rhythm at seeing her best friend all right again. A relieved smile was playing at the corners of her lips, tugging them upward, but not enough to where her teeth were showing._

_ Sakura nodded her head again, but scowled at the feel of her itchy, dry throat. "Actually, could you get me something to drink? My throat hurts a little." She began to rub her throat gently, not wanting to hurt it more. Deidara nodded while hopped of the bed and ran to the bathroom attached to Ino's room. He came back with a small, paper cup that was filled with water and handed it to Sakura, who immediately downed out, feeling the coolness of it splash onto the dry skin. "Thank you, Deidara. That really helped." Sakura smiled at him softly and placed a tiny kiss on his cheek. The blonde blushed a little and turned to throw the cup into the trashcan. He sent a glare to Ino, who was giggling like a mad man._

Bright light flashed through the window and onto the pale eyelids of one pink haired girl. She pulled her eyebrows together before turning away from the window. The second her side hit the bed, she gave a small yelp of pain. It seemed she forgot about the beating from last night. As she came to terms with the bruises and fractures on her body, she nearly let out a pained sob when she stood up. She limped on her left foot to get to the bathroom, which was very hard to do. She took a seat on the toilet and pulled her gray pants leg up- she hadn't been able to change last night- and felt her stomach churn from the sight.

Purple. Dark purple and black. Bruises lined her shin, calf, ankle, and knee. Small cuts were trailing on her foot, slight red trails traveled down the snow colored skin and onto the underside of her foot. She sent a quick glance to the floor and gave an exhale when she saw no blood there. She quickly peeled off her clothes, remembering to not look in the mirror, too scared of the horror that her body had been placed through earlier. The image from yesterday morning was still playing in her mind, also, so that wasn't very much help. She braced herself the cold water that was sure to come when she heard the shower head grown to life.

Only, it didn't. Her eyes that had been closed quickly shot open in surprise when she felt the warm droplets hit her icy skin. She stared, eyes wide in shock, at the shower head, wondering why _hot _water was pelting her instead of the usual cold. But soon, she got over it, choosing instead to take the chance of hot water while it lasted. Her tense muscles soon fell slack from relaxing water and her cuts felt cleaner. Her slightly oily hair was now like silk, the strong scents of strawberry and coconut invading her nose. She flinched as she washed over the cuts and bruises, her nerves sending waves of pain into her body. She chanced another look as she washed the blood off her foot and a soft sigh escaped her lips as she noticed her foot looked much better without the dried blood. Much too soon for her liking, Sakura stepped out of the shower and wrapped her dirty clothes around her.

Goosebumps rose on her skin as the air hit her wet skin when she walked into her room. Taking a look at her arms, she opted for a tank top. There were hardly any bruises, and the ones visible she could blame for the beating from Sasori. She grinned at the light green top with small cherry blossoms decorating it. She pulled out a pair of gray, faded jeans and her wrappings from the closet. Passing her dresser on the way to her bed, she pulled the forgotten socks, bra, and panties. She set the wrappings and socks on her bed, pulling on her other clothes first. She sat down on the edge of the bed when she was finished and wrapped her damaged foot with two layers of wrapping. She pulled on the socks over them, making sure to keep the bandages hidden. When she was satisfied, she stood up and walked calmly over to her dirty clothes basket. Placing her pajamas from the night before, she picked up the dark blue basket and headed out of her room.

The wooden stairs creaked slightly from the combined weight of Sakura and the clothes. She had it on her hip, not wanting to trip over something and fall down the steps. She looked out the large window above the front door and scowled at the dark clouds that were forming. She wanted to go outside seeing as how that was the only possible thing to do at her house. She pulled a door next to the stairs open and walked into the tiny, cramped room. A washer and dryer stood in front of her. Placing the basket of clothes on the dryer, she began to pick out the darks. Opening the top of the dirtied washer, she plopped all the clothes in there before grabbing the bottle of _Tide._ Upon opening the lid, a scowl scratched itself into Sakura's lips; there was hardly anything left in the bottle. She pressed her lips in a thin line while pouring the rest of the cleaning liquid onto her clothes. She watched as the water descended onto the colors of black, blue, and dark purple, turning away as bubbles started to appear on the clothes.

Sakura made her way to the kitchen, hoping there was some bread at the very least hanging around the kitchen counter. But of course, her father was always true to his words and there was nothing to eat at all. Mold lined the corners of the freezer, small ice chippings hitting her arm as the door opened. Her stomach began to cramp and growl lowly, hunger pains making a slight whimper escape her throat. Biting her lip, Sakura walked over to the coin cabinet. She pulled out a ten dollar bill- to pay for more laundry detergent- and headed to the front door, glad she always placed her key on the dining room table. When she opened the door, she blinked. Sitting in her driveway was a purple Mustang GT with a blonde in the driver's seat.

The door opened and out hopped the driver. Her hair was up in a tight bun, her bangs separated and clipped to the side, showing off her blue eyes. The brown wedges strapped to her feet made a soft clinking sound as she ran up the gravel, her white, ruffle skirt swishing lightly. Her torso was covered in a white tank top, a blue cardigan placed over that, the button under her breast puller throw the loop. "Sakura! Come on! You are going to spend the Saturday with us, starting with breakfast!" The girl chirped happily, grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling her the car.

"Ino!?" Sakura asked, disbelief lacing her words. It was a rare sight for her best friend to wear her hair any other way than the ponytail. Ino threw a grin over her shoulder, her white teeth sparkling as the sun hit them. Sakura blinked when she saw her usual seat- the passenger seat- was already taken by a certain gray haired teen. The boy's purple eyes sparkled with laughter as he sent a smirk her way. With his head, he told her where she would be seated for their little day out; in the backseat with Deidara, who had a small blush on his cheeks.

"Come on, Sakura, don't be so shy. My brother won't bite you. I mean, I don't think he will. We still aren't sure if he is a boy or dog, yet." Ino stated a little loudly, hoping her brother heard her. From the annoyed glare she received, it showed he had. Ino gave a light giggle as she sang "Love you, Dei-dei!" Hidan was bursting with laughter from the passenger seat, holding his stomach as he choked on his laughter. Ino skipped to her car, humming softly as she did, while Sakura walked calmly to the backseat. "So, where are you going for breakfast, Sakura?"

Sakura looked up from buckling her seat belt and met Ino's questing gaze. A soft rose color made its way to her cheeks as everyone stared at her, waiting for her answer. "It doesn't really matter to me." As the memory of her hunger pains hit her again- quite literately, too- she spoke up again. "Just somewhere with a lot of food. Too busy this morning cleaning the house to eat breakfast, you know?" Hidan and Deidara nodded their heads, finding nothing wrong with her excuse. Ino, however, kept her eyes on Sakura for a second longer, knowing the real reason, before backing out of the driveway. The ride to the _Green Leaf Diner_ was quiet, the only music plating was '_In The End' _by _Linkin Park. _Sakura's eyes watched as all the scenery passed by, her ears picking up the light sound of Deidara lightly tapping along to the beat of the song. As she crossed one leg over the other, she brushed over her damaged foot, flinching lightly.

Out of the corner of Deidara's right eye, he saw Sakura flinch. He pivoted his head to where he could watch her without her knowing. His held a color of worry as he watched her rub her foot, then her chin we she accidently hit it. "Hey." He whispered very softly, only enough for her to hear him. When she faced him, her head tilted to one side, he continued. "Are you okay?" He pointed to the same area she had been rubbing earlier and watched as she bit the bottom of her lip, her eyes quickly darting away from his.

She gave a shake of her head and a soft sigh, forcing a sweet smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just ran into a table at my house. The force caused a bruise and even if I barely brush it, it hurts. No need to worry about me." Deidara's eyes stared at her in worry, wondering if he should believe her or not. The fact that a table caused pain to both her foot and calf does not make any sense. "Deidara, if something bad ever happens to me, I will tell you. And I'm telling you right now, nothing is wrong." Another forced smile found its way to her face.

Deidara stared at her for a minute before giving off a soft smile of his own, his azure eyes filled with warmth to the brim. "Okay, I believe you. Just tell me if someone ever wants to hurt you, and I will be there for you. I promise." Sakura nodded her head, her smile fading slightly as guilt washed over her. She turned to the window, biting her lip and clenching her fists as hard as she could, trying to do anything to stop the tears that were sure to spill from her lashes. She felt the wind hit her face and blow her hair back as Hidan rolled down his window, thankful for the way it blew her tears from her eyes.

As Ino pulled into the parking lot of the small yet popular diner, she rolled up Hidan's window, much to the annoyance of the latter. She heard a faint growl come from the back of the car and smiled lightly as Sakura's cheeks dusted a rosy pink color. Right as she was about to turn the ignition to turn the ca off, '_How_ _You Remind Me'_ by _Nickelback _came on. Ino's mouth dropped as she stared at the radio; why did one of her favorite songs have to come on now, dammit!? Sakura was choking on her laughter from the backseat, trying to keep it under control. Ino sent her a glare as both girls got out of the car. "Oh, shut up, Sakura!"

The pinkette gave the peace sign while sticking her tongue out. The blonde huffed at her best friend before crossing her arms under her chest. The two boys met each other's amused looks as they followed behind the two girls. Sakura opened the door, trying to keep Ino from hitting her, and the small_ jingle _from the bell above the door alerted all the patrons there were more people coming in. Everyone gave the four a bored look before going back to what they were doing; eating, talking, reading the newspaper, etc. Hidan looked around the small, white diner, the colors red and black popping out now and then. Finally, a brunette wearing a waitress outfit walked up to them.

Hazel eyes kept a close eye on Hidan, licking her bottom lip slowly as her brown hair swished to a stop. "How can I help you?" she purred, her eyes half lidded and flirty. Ino was scowling at the girl seeing how she was only paying attention to Hidan and no one else. Said magenta eyed male was looking and feeling uncomfortable from the intense gaze of the waitress; he felt as though the girl was going to pounce on him at any second. He sent a distressed look to Deidara, hoping for help, only to an amused smirk in return.

"Yes, _we_ would like a table for _four_. If that isn't too hard, I mean." Ino grounded out between clenched teeth, feeling super annoyed. She put the emphases on 'we' and 'four' so the waitress could understand that there was indeed _more than just one person. _The waitress gave a sneer to the blonde and a longing, jealous look to the pinkette's bonified body. She began to head to the back of the diner, grabbing four menus on the way.

"Here you go, _ma'am." _The waitress, Rukia, stated with disdain put into the word 'ma'am'. Ino gave her a smug look as she sat next to Hidan, across from Sakura. Rukia gave a flirtatious smile to Hidan, who was looking through the food choices, before walking off, swinging her hips a little too much. Sakura's green eyes were looking at Ino in amusement, wondering how the blonde got _jealous _before she, too, picked up the menu. It was made of a dark green with _Green Leaf Diner _ written across the front in pretty cursive writing. Her stomach twisted again from all the selections, the pains only growing worse now. No matter how annoying the waitress was, Sakura hoped she would arrive soon.

After a few minutes of waiting and deciding on what to eat, Rukia came back, notepad and pen in hand. She didn't even ask them, just gave them a look that was asking what they wanted to order. Ino, wanting to get under the girl's skin, decided she would give everyone's order. "Well, I want four crème cheese puffs, he", Ino pointed to Hidan, "would like a sausage omelet with bacon, he," this time she pointed at her twin, "would like three egg sandwiches and she," this time to the pinkette next to Deidara, "would like two sunny side up eggs, three pieces of bacon, and an omelet with extra everything on it, puh-lease."

Rukia looked over the boney girl in shock. Why would she want so much food when she had such a great body!? "Um, miss pink hair, why on earth would you order that amount of food? Aren't you afraid it will ruin your figure?" Ino sent the girl yet another glare, ready to say something to her when she saw Sakura turn her head away, tears fighting to fall down the pale, empty cheeks. Why did everyone think she looked beautiful as a bag of bones with pale flesh covering them?

"She ordered it, didn't she? Then obviously she wants it, dumbass." Ino growled, not liking it when people hurt her _best _friend. Rukia gave her a disgusted look before turning and walking away. Ino calmed down before placing her hand on Sakura's arm, knowing the girl was very self-conscious about her weight-98 pounds when soaking wet- and her thin figure. "Hey, Sakura, are you okay? Don't listen to that bitch, okay? You are beautiful, you just need to see it." Ino said softly, not wanting for Sakura to become more upset.

Sakura took a deep breath, calming herself down before the tears could _actually _fall. After a minute or two, she finally turned to the older blonde. "I'm fine now, Ino. Thank you for standing up for me. It really helps." She gave Ino a sad smile, her eyes holding a small glint of pain as her stomach once again twisted in a horrible way, the feeling getting worse. "I just wish the food would get here quickly; I'm starving." She gave off a soft smile that was quickly returned by Ino. Both boys had an eyebrow raised at them, but neither asked anything.

When Rukia came back with the tray of food, Sakura felt her stomach twist once again, still more painful than the one before it. "Four crème cheese puffs," she placed the plate in front of Ino messily, "sausage omelet with bacon," she placed the plate in front of Hidan, angling her body in a way to show her cleavage, a sexy smile on her face, "three egg sandwiches," she placed the plate in front of Deidara gently, "and two sunny side up eggs, three pieces of bacon, and an omelet with extra everything on it." She finished with a bland voice, placing the plate in front of Sakura. The waitress walked off, a frown on her face.

"What a nice woman." Ino stated dryly, nearly burning her tongue on the crème cheese puff. "And she could have warned me this _just _came out of the oven. Sheesh, people these days, can't even have good service in a restaurant." Her blue eyes were shining an icier color than normal, showing she was quite mad. Hidan snickered, grabbing his fork and blowing on a piece of omelet. He gave a short '_Yike!' _when the hot piece of food touched the roof of his mouth. "Why didn't you listen to me? I _just _said this was finished not even two seconds before it reached us, you _baka_." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well if you knew, then why did you go ahead and take a bite out of your puff thing? _Baa-kaa~~" _Hidan sang. Ino sent a glare to him before bringing up her fist and slamming it into the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for!?" He cried after a small yelp. He dropped the fork onto the plate, a soft _'clank!' _was heard, and rubbed the bump already forming on the top of his head. He gave a small pout and soft whimper. "That is going to take forever to go down. Thanks a lot, Pig!"

Ino pushed a piece of loose hair behind her ear. "Humph, whatever, you totally deserved that. Hey, Saku-" Ino stopped mid sentence as she looked at her best friend, eyes wide. Her plate was missing half of the food it came with and there seemed to be no end to her stuffing it in her mouth. Sakura looked up when she heard her name and swallowed the omelet piece in her mouth. She looked between Ino and Deidara, who were looking at her with their jaws dropped and eyes wide as saucers. A blush made its way to her cheeks as she felt very uncomfortable with the stares she was receiving.

Ino snapped out of it when she noticed the distressed look in Sakura's eyes. "Anyway, Sakura, I was just wondering where you wanted to go after this. I mean, since it _is_ the day we will spend the entire time together, I figures you should get to choose where we are going. That is, of course, if you don't want to stay here and eat everything in sight." Her left eye twitched as she watched Sakura shove forkful after forkful down her throat again, wondering how she was able to hold it all in her tiny stomach. Even Hidan had stopped to watch her eat, an amazed look in his oddly colored eyes.

Sakura shrugs, not really caring that much. "Well, I don't have that much money on me and I need to pick something up from the grocery store. But didn't you say something about needing to go to the mall soon last week? We should go there, then." She picked up a piece of bacon and dipped it into the egg before stuffing it into her mouth. She blushed again as she felt Deidara's eyes on her, watching her closely.

He shrugged before starting on his second sandwich. "It's whatever you want to do, yeah. We don't really care." Just as he was about to take a bite of the toasted bread, egg, and tomato, an idea came to his mind. "Hey, how about we see a movie while at the mall? Isn't _Saw: The Final Chapter _coming out today? I saw we watch it; I love gory movies." He trailed off, his eyes fogging over as a bright smile lit up his face.

Ino and Hidan met each other's eyes, twin smirks decorating their faces. Step 1 of Operation DeixSaku was going to go under way during the movie at the mall. "You know, Dei, that is a _great _idea. I am so glad you decided to pitch it out there!" Ino chirped, trying to quickly finish her food. When they had all finished, Hidan placed down two twenties before they all exited, the magenta eyed male practically sprinting away when Rukia tried to jump him.

"Stop laughing, blondie. It ain't that funny!" Hidan screeched at the snickering Ino, who was trying to fix her seatbelt without much progress. Sakura and Deidara were doubled over in the back, leaning on each other as they laughed, tears springing into their eyes. "You know what!? SCREW ALL OF YOU!" Hidan crossed his arms over chest while turning to face the window, a small pout on his face as they laughed at him the entire drive to the mall.

Magenta eyes were twitching uncontrollably now, glaring at the other three in the car, the hood down so the wind wouldn't blow their hair into their faces. His scowl had only deepened as they neared the tall, tan building. The only one who had stopped their gut-busting laughter was Sakura, but she was still giggling lightly in the back seat. An annoyed growl passed his lips as he sulked in his seat. Why him? His eyes darted over to the blonde, a humorous smirk graced his lips as he recalled the jealousy playing in the icy blue depths when that weird waitress began to flirt with him.

"Here we are. Now we can stop teasing Hidan, guys. Let's watch the movie first!" Ino declared as she hopped out of the driver's seat with the speed of track racer. Hidan blinked as he watched the girl practically _skip _to the entrance. He shook his head as he jogged up next to her. "Okay, I will sit next to Sakura and you will sit next to Deidara. Make sure they are in the middle. Sakura usually jumps and clings onto whatever is on the right of her during a scary movie and has to bury her face into the same thing when something gory happens so make sure Deidara is on her _right." _Hidan nodded lightly at the orders of the blonde.

"So what are we going to do after the movie, yeah?" Deidara asked as he and Sakura made their way next to the two planners. He placed his arms behind his head the way he would see Naruto do so many times at school. His azure eyes darted from Sakura to Ino, wanting to see who would reply and what they would say. The two girls looked at each other, not knowing what to do before shrugging. "I take that as a you don't know yet and will most probably know after the movie?" He raised an eyebrow and sighed as the two girls smiled up at him.

Sakura placed her hands into her jean pockets, staying quiet and giggling as Ino and Hidan began to bicker about the importance of eating junk food; Hidan loving junk food while Ino thought it was much better to eat healthy to maintain your health. She blinked when she felt something crumple under her palm and brought her hand out. She blinked when she noticed it was the ten dollar bill she brought with her for cleaning detergent. "Actually guys," Sakura interrupted the bickering friends, attention placed on her as she looked at the bill in her hand, "I have to go somewhere after the movie to pick something up."

Ino nodded her head as she pushed open the glass door that led to the entrance of the mall. "Of course, Sakura. Remember, today is all about what you want to do! Now come on! Let's go see the movie, hot stuff!" Ino stated loudly while grabbing Sakura's wrist lightly and dragging her over to theater. "Four tickets to _Saw; The Final Chapter_, please!" Ino gave her best flirty face, her arms pushing her breasts out, her eyes half lidded, and bottom lip pouted out. The man didn't even seem to understand they were all under aged to see the movie and gave her four tickets.

Sakura giggled at her blonde best friend who has walking toward the snack bar for a coke to drink. Sakura's eyes became saddened as she realized she didn't have enough money to pay for a drink or snack, saving the ten dollars for the laundry soap. Deidara seemed to notice her distress and sidled up next to her. "Something wrong?" His deep baritone voice brought her back to her senses. She gave him a sideways look before going back to her bill. He noticed how she looked at it and got the message. "Don't worry, yeah. I can pay for your food if you want me to."

Before Sakura could reject, Deidara had already grabbed her wrist and pulling her to the snack bar. With Sakura standing nervously behind him, he ordered a medium coke and nachos. (Mmmm.. Nachos….) Deidara, being the blonde he is, nearly tripped on his way to Hidan and Ino, causing light laughter to bubble from Sakura's lips. Deidara felt his heart beat begin to speed up and his stomach do flip flops as he realized she was laughing at him before a light chuckle escaped his lips, too. The pair headed into the theater, going in order of Ino, Sakura, Deidara, and Hidan. None of them noticed the pair of eyes following them, a snarl placed onto the girl's lips.

Hinata's light gray eyes were glaring holes at the pink haired girl laughing with _her _Deidara. Her fingers were twitching to wrap around the smaller girl's neck, unconsciously doing it to her paper cup sitting in front of her. As she squeezed, red colored liquid poured from the holes in the cup but her eyes saw it as Sakura's blood. A creepy smile found its way to her face and Sasori stared at her in worry, biting his lip lightly as he watched his girlfriend take the plunge onto the crazy side; even if it was for just a few minutes, he couldn't stop looking at her. As his light hazel eyes looked up at the blonde man, he felt a snarl tugging at his lips, wanting nothing more than for the blonde to disappear so he could have Hinata's attention; he _was _going to need it for his plan with Itachi.

As Ino had predicted, Sakura immediately latched onto Deidara when the girl's stomach had been cut open during the first part of the movie. The blonde had begun a blushing parade as he felt thin arms wrap around left arm and a small, boney face bury itself into his shoulder to hide from the gruesome scene. Hidan was smirking next to Deidara, glad that Ino had decided to plan this out when they could see a movie. This was the perfect way to get these two together. He glanced over at Sakura's arms, slightly wondering how a girl as thin as her could stuff her face and gain no weight when she never participated in school sports.

A loud scream from the screen alerted him from his musings. His nose scrunched up as he watched the man in a flashback pull off one of the traps-the one that broke a person's jaw- and practically destroy the right side of his face. The blonde woman who had been married to jigsaw had run and hidden away from the guy-behind a rack of clothes, no less- and watched as he stitched his jaw back together. Hidan watched, his magenta eyes wide with amazement as he saw the gore and pain coming alive from the screen, wishing he could feel the same. After all, he did think pain was ecstasy.

Ino wasn't even paying attention to the movie, not one bit. She has stolen Sakura's nachos and began to chow down as she watched the pink haired girl practically wrap her entire body around her older brother's body. A smile began to light up her face as she saw Deidara attempt to comfort the girl, wrapping an arm around her slim waist. Ino noticed the way Sakura had been carefully placing her legs, making sure they didn't rub up against each other. Her father must have beaten her legs to near oblivion last night. She curled her fingers into a fist and turned to the movie, not wanting to think about Sakura's father.

**#6#7#8**

When the movie was over, Ino dumped her and Sakura's cokes and the platter of nachos she had been eating, manicure purple nails seeming to have not been touched by the cheese of the nachos. She turned to the others, noting how Deidara still had a blush dusting his cheeks as Sakura stood close to him. Hidan's eyes were wide and amazed, a large grin on his face, one that must have hurt his cheeks. "Okay, now that the movie is over, what are we going to do, Sakura?" Blue emerald met with green sapphire, a blonde head cocking to one side in a questionable manner.

Sakura bit her bottom lip lightly, pulling out the ten from her pocket and holding it tightly in her palm. "I need to buy some laundry detergent and after that I need to head home. My dad wants me to be at the house early and I have to cook him dinner tonight, too. Sorry that I can't hang out with you guys longer today. Maybe tomorrow or next Saturday?" she asked, hoping to get home early today to finish the laundry. Ino gave her one of her disbelieving looks, already knowing what she was talking about.

"That's fine, Saku. And don't worry, we can do whatever you want tomorrow!" Ino chirped, dancing around Hidan in a sudden sugar high moment. His bright eyes watched her dance with amusement in them, trying to figure out where and why she suddenly decided to act like this. Her skirt lifted from her thighs just barely as she twirled, her purple nails looking like a purple flash as she put her hands out. He noticed how a lot of guys stopped to stare at her as she twirled Sakura around, causing the girl to erupt in giggles.

"Come on Ino, I have to go laundry soap, remember? And don't worry, I can afford my own, Deidara." Sakura said as she noticed how his hand instinctively reached for his wallet. He gave her a small pout before pushing his hands into his jeans pockets. "So where exactly can I buy some?" she asked, not knowing the mall as well as Ino, but finding highly unlikely to find a bottle of _Tide_ somewhere in the _mall._ Her eyes landed on the wheat haired hair girl, silently asking for her expertise.

Ino placed a hand on her hip while cocking it out, putting her index finger to her chin and looking upwards, trying to recall where they would be able to find laundry soap. A sudden idea hit her, but she didn't know if she was right or not. "How about we go to the laundry place and ask if they have any to spare? I mean, you can't run a laundry service without soap, right?" It was one of her sudden genius moments that she often got from spending her days with her older cousin, Shikamaru. She would also have lazy moments from being around him so much. Nineteen and taken-by some girl with the prettiest eyes ever, light blue with a green ring around the pupil- he was easily the laziest person in their entire family.

Hidan's eyebrows rose to his hairline, shock evident on his face. "Wow, piggy, I didn't know you were smart. Why didn't this sudden genius come out before you began to eat your puffy food at the diner?" His voice held a teasing tone to it, his lips curled into a maniac smirk as they began to head down to look for the laundry place. "I mean, seriously, is it one of those rare moments you have or something?" Deidara was snickering from next to him while Sakura only raised an eyebrow at him. He could practically feel the anger coming off of Ino in tsunamis, but it was too much fun to get her riled up.

"Go to hell, Hidan! I can be smart whenever I frickin feel like it and if you have a problem with it, then go and screw yourself!" Ino snarled, Sakura having to hold her back before she could pummel Hidan into oblivion. Most people watching were looking very shocked; _how could a girl so small seem to hold back another angered girl so easily? _Hidan laughed as he walked away from the seething blonde who was still screaming curses at him. Deidara shook his head as helped Sakura carry Ino-who was able to give them directions in between her screaming fits. Everyone in the mall all just kind of… stopped to stare at them.

"Ino, calm down your screaming, yeah. You are giving us too much attention. You can scream and give out death threats when we get in the car." Deidara reasoned, trying and failing to keep a good hold on his sister. The girl finally seemed to calm down and was placed back on the floor. "Now, please show us the way to the laundry place, yeah."

"Fine. But only since I will be able to pound Hidan's head in later in the car. YOU HEAR ME, JACKASS?! YOU ARE _DEAD_ WHEN WE GET TO THE CAR!" Ino screamed the gray haired man fifty feet ahead of them. The man seemed unfazed by the threat and glare of the blued eye beauty, laughing like a physco maniac. Hidan skipped ahead, doing small twirls as if her got high on her anger that was directed to him. Ino gave out a strangled frustrated noise as she stomped over, grinding her teeth; everybody else was moving out of her way so not to be squashed.

Sakura and Deidara turned to face each other-Sakura having to crane her neck a little to look in his eyes- before both shrugged and proceeded forward to catch up with their crazy friends. They followed silently as Ino strutted over to the laundry place, Hidan snickering quietly. As they passed a bench, a man with copper colored hair and silver eyes sent her a wink, Ino returning it with a sway of her hips. Deidara's left eyebrow twitched, not liking when someone flirted with his little sister. And it seemed Hidan didn't either, if the scowl on his face gave anything away. "Okay, here we are! Sakura, you can go in buy whatever, I'm going to wait out here." Ino's blue eyes were staring over at the copper haired male as Sakura went in, Deidara following. "Eh, Hidan? What are you doing?" Hidan just crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his purple eyes holding a mysterious emotion in them while staring right at her.

**#6#7#8**

After getting the laundry soap-her usual brand of _Tide_- Deidara and Sakura walked out to find an interesting scene: Ino and Hidan glaring at each other, both eyes nearly red from anger(Lol, that happens to me X3) as the copper haired male stood next to them, mouth open in shock with a paper cup on top of his head, sticky coke dripping down from his head to his shoulders. "Okay, what is going on?" Sakura asked, trying to keep her friends' anger under control. Deidara was next to the kid, pulling out napkins from thin air to help him clean up.

Ino's livid-now purple- eyes turned to Sakura, a snarl pulling the sides of her lips. That look usually meant she was ready to kill and would lash out at the closest thing to her, but soften just barely as she saw the pinkette. "This _idiot_ decided to _ruin _my love life! I was just talking to Ryo when _**he**_," the way Ino said that pretty much promised death, "thought it would be _funny _to pour a cup of coke on his head!" Her small frame was shaking in anger, something that was usually rare for the Yamanaka girl. Not impossible, but rare.

Before Hidan could put in his two cents, Deidara appeared next to Sakura. "How about we just go home now, yeah? I'll drive. Ino, give me the keys." His order was answered immediately when his sister slammed her keys into his opened palm before walking away, Hidan next to her. Deidara sighed as Sakura looked up at him. "Come on, yeah. We don't want those two killing each other in the car. Remember the promise from twenty minutes ago? I'm sure Ino thinks it is still lingering in the air, yeah." Sakura nodded, following the older male to the car. Ino and Hidan were standing opposite from each other, their eyes still locked in a glare.

To say the car ride was awkward would be the complete understatement of the year. Not even the radio was playing. Sakura and Deidara were in the front, fidgeting as they felt the tension grow tighter and tighter every second. It felt like eternity when they finally pulled up to the gravel driveway of Sakura's house. She casted an apologetic look toward Deidara, who nodded to show it didn't bother him. A rough 'Bye Sakura.' was heard from Ino as Sakura stepped out of the car. She gave a light wave to the occupants before jogging into the house. She fumbled with her keys as she heard the car take off.

Sakura sent a look to the garage. Seeing no cars in there, a small smile made its way to her face, glad that her father wasn't home. She headed to the small room that held her washer and dryer, and took out her clothes, throwing them into the dryer. Sakura then picked out the whites, proceeding to grab her new bottle of _Tide _and dumping the perfect amount onto the dirtied clothes. She set the time and left to go to the living room. As her eyes slid shut for a nap, she found that she had a great day without her father breathing down her neck the entire time. Another grin, larger than the first, settled itself on her lips as she passed out.

**#6#7#8**

**I'm sorry this takes so long to finish! I have been having family and friend issues going on lately, but tomorrow I am hoping to finish a chapter for my other story and starting on the fourth one to this story. Is it good so far? And how was the Hidan/Ino jealousy thing going? And what are Sasori and Itachi planning?**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	4. My mother's anniversay

My Best Friend's Brother

_ "Hey, Sakura. What are you doing here?" an astonished Ino asked. She placed down the pot of lilies on the counter, causing her to stand on her tiptoes to reach it properly. She whipped off her dirtied fingers, soil staining them from potting all her family's flowers in the storage. She was just about to arrange all of them when she noticed Sakura standing outside the door, looking like she was having trouble deciding if she wanted to come in or not. The smaller girl jumped at the sudden voice of her friend. _

_ "Oh, Ino, I didn't see you there. Uh, sorry that I was standing out here, I'll just go now." As Sakura began to walk away, there was a slight noise coming from the storage room and a small string of curses as someone howled out in pain. "What was that!?" Sakura asked, sounding half-shocked and half-worried. Ino just shrugged and headed to the room, Sakura following after a moment of hesitation. When they arrived, it was to contain their loud giggles, their small bodies shaking with the effort to not laugh at Deidara. Said male just huffed and glared at them._

_ "A little help would be nice, yeah." He stated dryly. Ino and Sakura made no attempt to help and he groaned loudly as they fell to floor laughing. He was going to have his dad get the extra pots next time. He had tried to scale the shelf to reach the top where the pots were held, but he somehow ended up losing in his grip and fell into a batch of flowers. Now, soil and Magnolia were situated in his hair, broken pots sitting all around him as he tried and failed to untangle himself from the leaves and roots. A small hand was brought into his line of vision. _

_ "Here, I'll help you." Sakura said, giving him a smile. The red blush that spread quickly across his cheeks went unnoticed by the pink haired girl as she heaved him up and off the ground. Deidara reached up and whipped the soil from his hair and took the Magnolia from his golden locks. Contemplating on what to do with it, he decided to give the white flower to Sakura, a small blush adorning his features. Sakura took the flower, a questioning look in her eye before she ran a finger of the petal. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Deidara!" The young pinkette chirped, a large smile on her face. Ino was in the background, squealing like a fan girl. _

_ "Well, you did help me up unlike __**someone**__." Deidara put the emphasis on 'someone' while giving his sister a glare. Ino just smiled and waved as if she was a little angel. "Anyway, what did you come here for? I know it couldn't be to watch me make a fool of myself. Or to have Ino squealing like maniac, yeah." He gave off a small laugh with a tiny smirk, looking at her with his head cocked to the right._

_ Sakura began to fidget a little from the two gazes both twins were giving her. "Well, I was actually hoping you guys could help me make a bouquet." She rubbed her hands together, biting her bottom lip nervously. She took a deep steadying breath as she tried to think of a way to explain to them exactly what she need the bouquet for. "Today is a… special date. Two years ago on this date, my mommy died and I was going to give her a bouquet to show that I still love her." Tears were clogging her vision as she remembered when her mother died. It still hurt sometimes._

_ Deidara and Ino looked at each other, shock and sympathy in their eyes. "Of course we can help make you a bouquet. That's what friends are for, right?" Ino asked, a wide smile on her face as she ushered Sakura into the store and to show her their inventory. "Now, what we need to do to make a bouquet to give at a grave, is to match the meanings and colors of a flower. Now, I have a feeling that you don't know any meanings of flowers, so I will help. Now, let's begin!" _

_ Ino tied her long hair back into a ponytail before grabbing a gray ribbon and a pair of scissors, placing both by Deidara, who was sitting on a stool looking bored. She picked through the flowers, humming lightly as she called up the meanings of each flower. She gave a smile as she picked up a white lily-purity-, a pink carnation-"I'll never forget you"-, and a general poppy-eternal sleep. "Okay, Sakura, just let me cut these and tie the ribbon and we can go!"_

_ As Ino skipped over to the counter, the bouquet in hand, Sakura sputtered. "W-what? Do you mean you are coming with me to visit my mother's grave?" Ino turned around when she began to snap off the long ends of each flower, a smile on her lips, a matching one on Deidara's. "But you guys don't even know my mom! And don't you have to stay here and work? Who is going to run the shop while you guys are gone?" Sakura kept trying to come up with excuses to keep them to stay here, wanting to be alone with her mother when she spoke about her life without her._

_ "Nonsense, Sakura! We are your friends and friends take care of each other! We want to be there for you. Plus, you could tell us as much as you want about your mother while we are there. You know, to keep her name in remembrance!" The smile on her face widened as she beamed at Sakura, Deidara smiling softly as he tied the ribbon around the stems of the flowers. He hopped off the stool and walked in front of the flustered pinkette and bowed, arm extended out to give her the flowers. Sakura's cheeks turned a bright red as she stared at Deidara._

_ "Sakura Haruno, allow us, Deidara and Ino Yamanaka, to accompany you to the grave yard to visit your mother, yeah. We will in no way disrespect your wishes or your mother's grave. All we wish is to learn as much as we can about your mother while saying hello and goodbye to her along with you, yeah." He then stood to his full height in front of Sakura, grinning down at the younger girl. Ino was giggling next to Sakura as the pinkette flushed a light pink. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking her for an answer. Sakura nodded her head shyly, turning her to attention to the bouquet. "Dad! Ino and I are going to deliver some flowers! We will be right back, yeah!" _

_ When they received an 'Okay!' from Inoichi, who was in the backroom, they all left the small shop. Deidara handed the bundle of flowers to Sakura, who took them with a sheepish smile. "Thanks." Her voice was quiet that he was unable to tell if she had actually said anything or not. The three made their way to the grave yard in silence, Deidara and Ino respecting that Sakura didn't want to talk. Said pinkette was playing with the colored petals, staring blankly as they twisted around her fingers. She felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and turned to Deidara with his right arm around her shoulder and Ino with her left arm around her waist. _

_ Ino turned to the pinkette with a large smile on her face. "Don't worry, Sakura! We will always have your back! If anyone wants to hurt you, you tell us and we can beat them up for you! Right, Deidara?" both girls turned their heads to look at the blushing male. Deidara saw them looking and gave a sigh, nodding his head in agreement. Ino cheered loudly, Sakura smiled softly, and Deidara blushed the entire time to the graveyard; even more so when he felt Sakura rest her on chest, or the most she could reach of it._

_ When they arrived at the gray gates for the cemetery, Deidara and Ino allowed Sakura a moment to get ready to see her mother's grave. The pinkette took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears in but a few fell down her cheeks. Swallowing loudly, she began to walk towards the headstone, the path burned into her memory from walking to it for awhile. The two Yamanaka twins followed silently behind her, not wanting to disturb her in her silent mourning. Sakura sat down cross legged in front of a gray-red headstone that read: _**Mebuki Haruno, Loving mother and wife. Born- June 14, 1967 Died- January 8, 2000. **_"So, Sakura, what was your mother like?" Ino asked softly, her eyes reading what the headstone said._

_ The two blondes sat on either side of Sakura, looking at her but not pressuring her to answer. The pinkette took in another long breath as more tears began to spill. "My mommy was one of the most gentlest people I knew. She did have her bad side, but that was hard to do. She was normally calm and quiet. She cherished life, always saying 'you never know when the last page of your story is, so might as well make your book about an adventure only you know'. She would always refer things to books, too. It was really weird and funny. Her cooking was the best, no one could compete. My favorite was her taco salad. And she took good care of all the animals we would bring home. It was like we ran a vet there._

_ "But she never told us she was sick. She would always hide the pain behind her smile, a smile that could practically light up the entire room. She would always dance, but at night I could hear her groaning while in the bathroom. I never knew what was wrong, but I always tried to make my mommy happy. When I would ask what was wrong, she would always say nothing, that she was perfectly fine." Tears began to cascade down her face, like a small river as she recalled all the events from what had happened. In the distance, gray clouds were rolling in and thunder could be heard. "And then one day, she passed out. We took her to the hospital and she told 'Don't worry. I am a strong woman. I can take it and I can break it!' But she couldn't! She had a brain tumor and it was so large, she would have died even if they removed it!" _

_ Small raindrops began to assault the bright colors of hair as Ino and Deidara stared down at the small girl, her body shaking from the sobs emitting from her mouth. As the small shower began to turn into a downpour, the two wrapped Sakura into their arms, holding her tightly to them. The bouquet lay on the ground in front of the headstone, lost to the three kids. Ino ran her fingers through the wet, pink strands of hair as Sakura wrapped one arm around her and the other around her brother. "We will always be here for you, Sakura. We won't leave you." Ino smiled as Deidara spoke to Sakura, making a promise to the girl. They wouldn't leave her, not ever._

Sakura's emerald eyes opened when she heard the front door slam close. She looked out the window and saw the sky had turned gray, not like yesterday's bright blue. Once all the sleepiness subsided, she began to feel the burn of last night's beating in her arms. With a wince, she lightly raised them to observe the damage. Not pretty. Her skin was marred with long scratches, dry blood all around them. She knew that under all the blood, her skin was most likely a red color that she was used to. When her father had begun to use knives to beat her, she noticed the skin around the gashes would turn red from infection.

With a sigh, she stood up, glad her father only attacked her forearms in his drunken rage. She made her way to the bathroom, shivering lightly as the cool air hit the uncovered skin of her arms and legs. When she opened the door to her bathroom, she peeled off her tank top, scowling as she looked at it. She bit her bottom lip, trying to decide if she wanted to use this one or another. Another sigh passed her lips as she proceeded to the medicine box under the skin. Riffling through the contents, she finally found the bottle of peroxide.

She plopped down onto the toilet, shivering as the cold, white porcelain made contact with the uncovered skin on her back. Placing her tank top in her lap, she unscrewed the cap of the plastic, brown bottle and poured a small amount of the cleaning liquid into her shirt. Putting the bottle on the counter next to her, Sakura dabbed the scrapes and gashes on her right arm, hissing as she began to feel the sting of the peroxide entering her skin. She watched for a second as small bubbles started to form around the affected area. With yet another sigh-how many times was that going to happen?- she proceeded to do the process again on her left arm.

Walking out of the bathroom, Sakura threw her old top into the basket in a corner. She headed over to her closet and pulled out a gray long sleeved top and black jeans. Picking up the wrappings on her bedside table, she placed her clothes on her sheets. She began to bandage her arms up, not wanting the fabric of her shirt scrapping over the shredded flesh. Watching as small red blotches appeared on the white material, Sakura deemed it good enough to put her shirt over.

She barely had a struggle getting the jeans on, but nearly tripped over her pants leg while walking to her drawer. Stumbling on her feet, she slammed her palms down on the wood, flinching when she felt waves of pain hit her wrist. Slightly pushing her weight off the dresser, she opened the top drawer and pulled out two random socks; gray and light pink. She walked over the her bed, her footsteps short and soft. Her stomach twisted into a knot for some unknown reason that her subconscious mind had already put together.

Sitting on her bed and putting her feet in her socks, she looked out the window again. The sky was darker and she could even see clouds almost black in color rolling in. A horrible storm was most likely to hit that afternoon. Still feeling slightly uneasy, Sakura headed to the calendar on her desk. Flipping it open to that month, she felt her mouth go dry and her heart beat speed up. **January 8, 2009. **The anniversary of her mother's death. The ninth year, to be exact. She bit the inside of her cheek as tears began to spring to her eyes, refusing them to spill no matter how much she wanted to cry.

Sucking in her breath, she headed quickly to her closet to pull out her usual shoes. She quickly danced around her room on one foot while trying to get her shoe on the other, repeating the process and slamming into a wall. Not paying much attention to the pain throbbing in her left arm, she sprinted to her door and pulled it open; the sheer force nearly ripping it from its hinges. Going down her steps as fast as could without tripping, she ran into her kitchen to grab her house keys. The distance sound of thunder resounded in her ears as she slammed the front door shut and began to run down the street. The sound of her shoes hitting pavement sounded distance, only one thing on her mind.

Her breathing came out in harsh pants as she bent over, placing her hands on her knees. She lifted her head to look up at the small building in front of her. It was a soft beige color with a green door. She could see rows upon rows of flowers through the large glass window that had **Yamanaka Flower Shop** printed on it in neat cursive; no doubt Ino's doing. She straightened up and opened the door, hearing a soft '_ding' _from the bell hanging above the door. "Hold on just a second!" A deep voice from the back room called out. After a few minutes of standing by the counter, biting her lip, she heard someone approach. "Sakura, yeah? What are you doing here?"

Sakura turned her head to see bright eyes looking at her in shock. She gave a nervous smile as her eyes flitted to the calendar by the display case. "I need a bouquet. It's for… uh… an anniversary. I want white lilies, pink carnations, and one poppy in the middle of the entire bouquet, please." She prayed that Deidara had forgotten what the bouquet was for. She wanted to be alone today and knowing the older blonde, he would try to accompany her to the grave yard.

Deidara knitted his eyebrows together, so close they nearly touched. "That sounds really familiar, yeah…" He trailed off, trying to recall where and when he had heard that order. It only took a matter of seconds before it dawned on him. "Oh," he said softly, looking at the smaller girl in front of him, "that's what it's for, isn't it?" At her nod, he placed his hand on her shoulder, already seeing the small clear tears spring to her eyes. "Come on, how about we get that bouquet to-" He was cut off by a loud clang of thunder outside, causing Sakura to jump and cling to Deidara.

Said blonde blushed brighter than a rose and looked outside, a frown tugging the side of his lips. The rain was just a small sprinkle right now, but it was easy to tell that it was going to turn into a heavy downpour later. With a sigh, he walked back over to the counter with the small girl still attached to him. "Do you want a gray ribbon like last time, yeah?" He looked up at her while riffling through a box below the counter. At her nod-she was still looking out the window- he pulled out the string of ribbon and a pair of scissors. "Just let me get the flowers in an arrangement and I will drive us to the grave yard."

Sakura looked up, shock evident on her face. He raised an eyebrow before giving her a bland look. "Sakura, don't tell me you were _actually _thinking about _walking_ in this rain, yeah." When she bit her lip lightly, eyes darting over to the small rows of lotus, Deidara nearly smacked his forehead. "Look, Sakura, I'm going to drive you. If I don't there is a possibility you will get sick and we don't want that, now do we?" She slumped her shoulders, face downwards. Walking past her with the flowers in hand, he rubbed her head. "Stop being so glum now, yeah! I can wait for you if you want be alone with your mother."

Sakura nodded, her eyes following the green stems as they fell on the table top with a small _'plop'_. She felt small goose bumps climb up her arm, finally realizing how cold it was in here. Looking around, she scowled at the window, watching as the rain started to get a little heavier outside. Looking back at Deidara, she watched how he put the flowers in a perfect order, one red poppy in the middle with a line of white and pink going around it. The gray ribbon seem to be a perfect match for the pattern, she noted, as it twisted around the strong stems. When there was a perfect bow around the base, a smile crawled to his face.

"And here we are, yeah! All done! Now then, if you don't have any other requests, let's head out." Deidara handed her the small bouquet while grabbing his jacket and car keys. "Oi, dad, I'm going to take a friend out! I'll be back in a bit, yeah!" A soft grunt was all he heard when he began to lead Sakura out the back exit and to the parking lot. He scowled when she started to shiver, for the first time noticing she didn't have a jacket. "Sakura, are you going to be okay without a jacket? I mean it _is _pretty cold out here…" he trailed off, looking expectant with a raised brow.

Sakura fidgeted slightly under his gaze, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "Yeah, I'll be alright. I hardly feel anything, anyway!" She forced a smile onto her face, feeling the strain of it as it threatened to fall off her face. Deidara just stared at her for a second before pulling the door open for her and walking over to the driver's side of the car. Sakura hurriedly got into the car, almost slipping on the sidewalk as the rain pelted down harder on her. She lightly closed the door, feeling her cheeks heat up from Deidara's amused chuckle.

Shaking his head lightly, Deidara placed the key into the ignition and turned it to the right, listening as the engine purred and came to life. Pulling the gear shift to reverse, he placed one hand on Sakura's seat to look out the back window, making sure he didn't run into anything. As he began to drive, he noticed how Sakura played with the colored petals nervously. "Sakura, you aren't scared of me, are you?" At the flabbergasted look she gave him, he elaborated. "I mean, when it's just us two, you hardly ever say a word, yeah. Are you scared of me?" when she gave a negative response, he furrowed his brows together. "Nervous that I might do something?" Another negative response. He bit his lip, trying to think of a reason why exactly she was so quite when Ino wasn't- "You're shy with people when Ino isn't around." Sakura finally nodded her head. "How cute, yeah." He whispered, caressing her left cheek with his right hand. A bright blush bloomed on Sakura's face.

Both nearly had heart attacks when the sound of thunder resounded outside, the rain starting to pelt mercilessly down on the car. After the initial shocked passed, Deidara pushed on the gas a bit. He scowled at the temperature when they passed a sign. It was 42 degrees outside and Sakura wasn't wearing a jacket. She _had _to be freezing. He turned the heat up a bit, making sure she didn't get too cold. A bright flash of light illuminated the darkened sky and the car for a second and Deidara's eyes caught sight of her shivering slightly. It only took a few minutes to reach the cemetery, and when Deidara put the car in neutral, Sakura hopped right out, not saying anything.

Sakura trudged through the mud and rain, feeling cold without the heat from the car. The eerie feeling the place gave off was enough to have her run back to the car, but she couldn't. Sighing, she made her way to her mother's grave, eyes scanning for anyone or anything that would pop out at her. She stopped in front of the off tone red-gray curved stone. Short pieces of grass were crawling up the front, thin vines crawling up the sides. She traced the name carved into the smooth surface, everything else at the back of her head. Shifting to sit on her knees, Sakura placed the small bundle of flowers on top of the ground, drawing in a deep breath.

"Hey, mom. It's only been a year since I was last here, but it's felt like eternity. I really miss you. You were one of my best friends when I was younger, but now I have more! Ino and Deidara really care about me and I'm glad to have met them. Without them, I wouldn't have a reason to live. People at school still hate me and I don't know why. But that doesn't really matter, does it? Ino took me out for breakfast yesterday along with Hidan and Deidara. I was so glad to finally have enough to eat. Dad doesn't really buy me much food. I hate being so thin.

"Dad is still good, I guess you could you say. He always comes home drunk and mad because he lost the poker game with his buddies. He attacked me with a knife last night. My arms still hurt, as they were nearly shredded." A cold wind suddenly hit Sakura, making her rub her arms to get heat flowing in her body, flinching when she did so. Tears began to pour from her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder why he treats me like that. I never do anything wrong, yet he always hit me! I just wish you were here to stop him or that someone else could take me away from him! He hates me along with most of the world!" Sakura began to sob, screaming out nonsense. Her heart was in pain right now, as it was every other time she visited.

Heat was suddenly engulfing her as a pair arms wrapped around her waist. Sakura looked up and saw Deidara through her river of tears. He was just holding her with his jacket wrapped around them both. He began to rub her back up and down encouragingly, pulling her small frame closer. "It's okay, you can continue to cry. I will always be here for you, yeah." He whispered to her gently, looking up at the sky. More sobs racked her body as Sakura buried her face into his chest, snuggling into the warmth he provided to her, keeping a tight grip on his shirt.

**#6#7#8**

Hinata felt her blood starting to boil. A bouquet of white roses were in her left hand, the other holding an umbrella. She was going to visit her late uncle when she came across the sight of Deidara and Sakura hugging. She stomped over to the head stone and slammed the roses on the grave, not even caring that they got caked in mud. She made her way back to her car, her gray eyes glaring at everything they landed upon. She fumbled in her purse, looking for her keys. Her hands were trembling in anger, the rage coming of her in waves. She paid no mind to the way the headlights lit up or the small beep that indicated the unlocking of her car.

She slammed the car door closed and sat in the front seat, Getting an idea of running Sakura over with her car. A smile lifted the corner of her lips as she thought about the image of a pink head laying flat on the road, blood pooling around it with green eyes popped from her skull and rolling around. She would play innocent, ditch her car somewhere they would never find it and steal Deidara. She placed the keys into the ignition and turned it, slamming on the gas. Yes, she would get rid of the pink haired menace and take Deidara.

**#6#7#8**

Deidara sat there on his knees, keeping his arms tight around the smaller girl, running his fingers in her hair now. He felt her entire body shaking when she sobbed, the cold seeming to have nothing to do with it. His shirt was soaking now, from both rain and tears. When the lighting flashed around them, he was able to read a small part of the inscription on the headstone. He felt her tug lightly on his shirt and he looked down at her, his heart squeezing painfully at the sight of her face.

Her green eyes were rimmed with tears, and instead of the usual emerald green they were a dark forest green. Her entire face was red and blotchy with tear stains on her cheeks. Her pink lashes were stuck together, her tears tangling them and sticking them together. Her hair was plastered to her face and on her neck. She looked so beautiful, yet so hurt he didn't know if his heart was breaking or melting. Either way, he tightened hid grip on her and waited for her to speak. "Deidara, do you promise to always be there for me? I know it's a lame promise, but please? You're one of my best friends."

He still couldn't decide whether his heart was supposed to break or melt, especially with her small confession, but he did know it was beating faster. He could have slapped himself when the blush spread to his cheeks from her gaze and the lack of distance between them. With a soft sigh, he continued to run his fingers through her wet hair. "Of course I will always be there for you, yeah. You are one of my closest friends that I can tolerate." He chuckled softly, his breath blowing her hair. His eyes softened at her, the tenderness not going unnoticed by the pinkette, causing her to blush lightly.

A small smile turned up the corners of her lips, small dimples showing. She felt a small twist in her stomach and blushed when it made a loud noise like a dying whale. She felt Deidara's eyes on her, an amused smirk lighting his features. "Hungry, yeah?" A dark blush made its way to her cheeks, showing her embarrassment. He let out a small laugh, shaking his head slightly while standing up. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. And out of this rain, yeah." She nodded in agreement and stood up next to him, interlacing her fingers with his. Red couldn't even begin to describe the color of Deidara's face.

When they neared the cemetery gates-still holding hands, mind you- they both jumped at the sound of a car door slamming shut. And then nothing after that. The stood where they were, eyes scanning the vicinity, looking for the car's location. Sakura had stepped closer to him, feeling nervous in the pit of her stomach. A few minutes later, they heard the sound of an engine starting up and a screech of rubber tires against smooth cement, no doubt someone speeding off at a dangerous speed. Deidara tugged on her hand, gently commanding her to follow. Sakura snapped out of her daydreamed state when she felt the pressure of his hand and started to follow him.

"I wonder who that was, yeah." Deidara stated softly, a curious sound to his voice. Sakura just shrugged while looking out the window, feeling weirdly anxious all of a sudden. And not noticing her fingers were still laced tightly around his. "Uh, Sakura, can you let go of my fingers now? I sort of need to use them to drive." Sakura gave him a sheepish laugh while scratching the back of her head, letting go of her iron death grip on him. With a small roll of his eyes, he started up the car before placing the gear shift into drive and heading off down the road. "Okay, so what do you want to eat, yeah?"

Sakura gave a thoughtful look, her index finger on her chin and head tilted up. "Hmmmmmm." She hummed softly to herself, trying to decide what exactly she wanted. The pain in her stomach was screaming to eat anything, _something _before it disappeared. "I want two Big Macs from McDonald's!" her voice was chirpy and happy, her face lighting up brightly from her smile. Her stomach would be smiling, too, if it a face, something Sakura was sure of.

Deidara nodded his head, switching on his turn signal to show the other drivers he was going right. They both felt the tires slip a little as he turned. The rain was coming down harder now, lightning and thunder more frequent. Deidara bit his lip from worry, wondering if it was a good idea to be driving out in this weather. One glance at Sakura told him that she was thinking the same thing. "How about I take you to my house and get something there? Ino is over at Karin's until tomorrow, my mom is probably stuck at work and my dad is still watching over the shop, so I think it will be us for the rest of the day. You won't mind, will you?"

Sakura shook her head, looking out the window. Her face contorted to pain from another cramp telling her it wants food, _now._ "So long as I get something to eat, it is fine." She heard him snort in amusement and pouted slightly. "It's not funny, Deidara. I'm really hungry." She faked whined, getting a laugh from the blonde's lips. "Humph. Jerk." She stated crossing her arms under her chest, and turning away to face the window. She shrieked lightly when a loud '_**clang'**_of thunder was heard outside. Deidara smirked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Shut up." He grinned at her annoyed look before turning back to the road, not wanting to cause a car crash.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, the occasional thunder shaking the car and lightning striking the ground somewhere. Both were relaxed in the car seats, Deidara driving smoothly on the road without a problem. Of course, there was a light blush on his cheeks thinking about spending the day with Sakura, his crush! On the outside he seemed calm and collected, but on the inside he was hyperventilating and blushing a red so dark, a tomato was jealous of him. His heart beat was faster than normal, too, and he couldn't seem to stop the butterflies from flapping around in his stomach. When they finally arrived on his street, he nearly jumped out the car and started screaming 'Hallelujah!' while running up and down the streets.

But he didn't. He just calmly drove past all the towering houses and pulled into the stone driveway of his-three story, white- house. Deciding it was a better idea to park in the garage, he pressed the garage door opened button and pulled into it. "You know, every time I come here, this place never ceases to amaze me." He just cocked an eyebrow upward while looking at her. He knew his house was big, but it wasn't _amazing._ Not to him, anyway. Shrugging it off, he lead her to the door, telling her to take off her shoes by the steps.

"Okay, head on upstairs to my room, yeah. It's right across from Ino's so it shouldn't be _that _hard to find." Sakura shot him a glare for making fun of her intelligence. He only smirked, "I'll be up in a few minutes with something to eat. And maybe a few movies, too, yeah. Just in case we get bored." He paused to look out the window, watching the raging storm continue. "…And maybe a few candles, yeah." Sakura nodded while walking toward the steps, stopping only as a sudden thought hit her. Turning slowly at the bottom step of the tall staircase, she looked at Deidara with a sort of blank look.

"If the storm keeps going like on like this, I'm going to have to stay here tonight." Deidara zipped off his jacket and raised an eyebrow-gosh he was doing that a lot today- and gave her a 'So?' look. Sakura swallowed lightly, fidgeting with her fingers, a large blush crawling up her face. "W-Well, I don't really like being alone during a thunderstorm. Especially at night." Deidara stood there for a second, looking very confused before it began to dawn on him that he would be sharing a bed with Sakura. _Sharing. A bed. _With _Sakura._ He couldn't be redder if he tried.

"Oh." Was the only thing he could think to say. His mouth was dry and his face was burning up. "Oh." He repeated, not knowing what else to say. He looked at Sakura and only saw a small blush on her face. The awkwardness of the situation was almost unbearable. Shaking his head slightly, he took a calming breath and looked at her. "That's fine, yeah. My bed is big enough for the both of us to share. And you can use one of my shirts for a nightgown. Lord knows you are small enough for it, yeah." She gave him a nervous smile before running up the steps.

Taking another deep breath, Deidara headed for the kitchen. He couldn't believe his luck. He would finally have some alone time with Sakura! There was a bounce in his step as he searched around the room, looking for something he could make for them to eat. Humming lightly, he began to wonder exactly _why _Ino had taken the day off when she knew it was Sakura's mother's death anniversary. Usually Ino was the one who comforted Sakura and got all the flowers together. She never had him take the shift, always saying he didn't know how the mind of a heartbroken woman worked. And then it hit him.

She had taken the day off because she _knew _Sakura was going to be there. She _knew _it was supposed to rain today from watching the weather last Monday. She _knew _he would take Sakura to the cemetery because he didn't want her to get sick or something of the sort. She _knew_ their parents would most likely get stuck at the offices if the storm hit as hard as it was. And she _knew _to use all this to her advantage for him and Sakura to get closer. _She needs to stop talking to Shikamaru, yeah_, he thought with a slight frown, _She is getting too smart from talking to him. _

With an agitated huff, he pulled out a large, clear bowl and a large bag of popcorn. He was so going to kill Ino for this later. But right now, he needed to find some movies and candles and matches. The storm outside was only getting worse by the second and he wondered if Sakura would be there longer than just tomorrow. Hopefully Hidan can come over and Ino will be there so they could all hang out without him blushing like a total idiot or passing out from lack of breath. Placing the bag into the microwave and putting in the right amount of time, he headed to the living room.

Heading over to the T.V., he kneeled down and opened a small drawer. Riffling through the contents, he picked out a few DVDs that were all in the same genre: horror. He seemed to have forgotten about how scared Sakura was during horror movies even though he saw one with her yesterday. (Can someone say horrible memory…?) Walking back to the kitchen, he placed the DVDs on the kitchen counter and went to the refrigerator. He pulled out the candles his mother kept in there, secretly thanking her for doing it. It was at that moment the microwave went off, signaling the popcorn was ready. While dumping the perfectly popped popcorn into the bowl, he wondered how the hell he was supposed to get all this stuff upstairs without dropping it all. He could only thank his crazy mind for loving fire and keeping a lighter in his bedroom.

**#6#7#8**

Sakura loved the Yamanaka household. It was like a house in one of the magazines for rich people. They had all the expensive furniture placed perfectly in each corner as though it would be a crime for something be even one inch from its usual spot. And the house was so clean, too. She wondered how they were all so down to earth with their lifestyle. Most of the rich people she had met were usually stuck up brats that wanted to degrade everyone who had even one penny less than them. It honestly got on her nerves when people did that. It made her feel so worthless.

Putting that thought to the back of her mind, she found herself at Ino's door. Turning to her right, she blinked when she saw the door. It was all black and looked to be in contrast to the rest of the walls-a nice crème color. Grasping the cool handle, she opened the door and flickered on the lights. The walls were gray and everything seemed to be in neutral colors. Walking into the room, she felt how soft the carpet was. Posters of bands hung around the room, small clay pieces along with colored pencils and paper were on top of his desk. The scent of the room was earthy, clay, and a delicious spice. She could get high off of it honestly.

Jumping at the sudden clap of thunder, Sakura snapped from her little high with a soft blush. Deciding now was the best time to look for a shirt, she riffled through his drawers, nearly passing out when she found his underwear. Continuing on with Inner Sakura shredding that memory, she finally located his T-shirts. Scrutinizing each one, she pulled an old _Metallica _ shirt that had small holes in the sleeves. Deeming it good enough, she stripped of her pants and froze when she was about to pull off her shirt. The bandages. How was she going to explain the bandages?!

_ Just keep the shirt on under this one, baka. _Well, isn't Inner happy today? Sakura weighed the options and figured Inner's idea was better to go with and slipped the shirt on, effectively keeping the blotchy bandages hidden. She hoped Deidara wouldn't ask her why she had on her long sleeved shirt because then she really wouldn't have an explanation. Jumping on his bed, Sakura decided not to dwindle on the matter anymore. The bed was super soft, she almost fell asleep right there. _Mmm, where has this bed been all my life? _Sakura giggled as she watched her Inner practicing for a marriage ceremony with Deidara's bed.

There was a swift knock on the door before Deidara's voice called out. "Oi, Sakura, can you open the door? My arms are kind of full, yeah." Sighing as she got up from the bed-Inner was crying, telling the bed she loved it and they would be reunited- Sakura drug her feet to the door where she nearly threw it open. She blinked as Deidara came walking in with a large bowl of popcorn, four DVDs, and six large candles. "It was so hard trying to carry these all up at once, yeah. I nearly fell down the steps three times. Now, beside my horrible walking skills, which of these do you want to watch, yeah?"

Sakura looked over each case and cringed. They were all original horror movies; _IT, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street _and _Friday the Thirteenth. _Oh, how she disliked scary movies. Biting her lip softly, she went for the least goriest of all, _Halloween_. "Good choice, yeah. This is one of the best movies out there. It has a great plot and perfectly scary." The grin that lit up his face had Sakura sink onto the bed, scared from the sudden change in him. Noticing how she seemed to be scared of him, he walked over to his T.V. and opened the case. Popping the DVD into the player, he turned to Sakura.

If you said this part was awkward, you being saying the understatement of the year. Deidara's ears were turning into a pretty red color while Sakura coughed, pink dusting over her cheeks. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to decide if there was any other awkward time in his life that could beat this one. Finally deciding to just make a move on her, he turned and grabbed his lighter from his desk, lit the candles, placed them around the room, grabbed the bowl, turned off the light, and sat down on his bed close to Sakura.

Skipping through the other movie previews, Deidara pressed play on the remote and sat back on his headboard, nearly choking from shock when he felt Sakura place her head on his shoulder. During the movie, Sakura would end up jumping close to him whenever something scary popped out or thunder rang particularly loud. He had to actually wrap an arm around her to keep her from jumping in to his lap like she almost already had. The popcorn was now placed on his bedside table next to a candle after the little incident. He kept a calm face on with a blush-good lord, he was doing that too much today- to keep her as calm as possible.

His eyes trailed down to her arms-that were clutching his shirt- and he slightly wondered why she was wearing two shirts. When he was about to ask her, a loud bang of thunder resounded throughout the room right when lightning hit. All the lights flickered on and off before turning completely off, washing the room in a slight orange-ish color. Sakura's arms wrapped around his torso as she gave a small squeak. She was shaking, he noted. "Sakura, calm down. I'm right here. I won't leave, I promise, yeah." He whispered. He felt her nod while tightening her grip. _This is going to be a long night, yeah_, he thought to himself while bringing Sakura to sit on his lap and wrap her in a hug.

**#6#7#8**

**There is chapter 4! Okay, so now I am going to use this time for a small rant (sorry) about my obsession with DeiSaku. I am very territorial about this couple. Like, if I see any other Deidara couple within a fiction, I will immediately back out. And for Sakura, I only like her with Naruto and Deidara. I despise SasuSaku and SasoSaku, so I probably wouldn't read those. The only time I read SasuSaku is when I'm bored and there is nothing else to do. And I will only read it if it has a got plot. Like I said, I am VERY territorial. It's crazy. Is anyone else like that with any couple? If you are, which couple? Also, I have a poll up for my next story, so please vote. And I am curious as to what your favorite AkatsukixKuniochi (Ex: HidaxTema) couple is. Mine is DeixSaku **** And is the story going in an okay order so far? I don't really know myself so if you could tell me. Also, I'm working on a DeiSaku one-shot and I will be focusing on that until I'm finished. One last thing! I want to try and get over 100 reviews for my story overall, so if you would review, that would be awesome! Thanks~**

**REVIEW PLEASE! (P.S. Have any of you ever heard of 'Summertime Sadness' by Lana Del Rey? It's a great song! P.S.S. After I started writing about the storm, we had a storm O.o) **


	5. A Promise

My Best Friend's Brother

_Deidara, Sakura, Ino, and Hidan were all walking to the elementary school on the bright morning with the sun shining down on them. "Sakura, did you hear? We are supposed to be getting a new kid in our class today!" Ino said, her smile wide. Deidara and Hidan only raised their eyebrows before continuing with their conversation. Sakura blinked and looked at Ino with curiosity. "Don't tell me you didn't know! It's all everyone has been talking about for the past week!" Ino gave a dreamy sigh while clasping her hands together. "I wonder what he looks like. Or what his name is. I hope he is handsome!"_

_ Deidara narrowed his visible eye and clenched his fists tightly when he heard Ino say she wants the new boy to be handsome. All he knew was the boy better not go anywhere near Sakura or he was going to bash his head in. When that thought passed through his head, he nearly tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. Hidan had noticed how the blonde had acted after hearing Ino and was nearly rolling on the ground from laughing so hard. "What's wro- HAHA-ong, Dei? J-j-jea-HAHAHA-lous much?" Deidara sent him a death glare as a blush crawled to his face when he felt the curious eyes of both girls on him._

_ Both Ino and Sakura turned to look at each, wondering what was going on. "Boys." Ino stated, crossing her arms and nodding her head like that was the answer to everything. Sakura giggled lightly as the two passed the blushing brightly Deidara and the peeing himself Hidan. "Come on you two, you don't want to be late for class, right?" Ino asked over her shoulder in a sing-song voice, snickering when the two began to try and pick themselves up while Deidara sent the deadliest glare he could conjure up to Hidan. "Sometimes, I don't understand how they even dress themselves in the morning." _

_ "Ino! Don't say that!" When Ino shot her a confused look, Sakura giggled lightly and looked at the two boys behind them. "It may confuse their small brains!" The two began to howl with laughter, not noticing the two boys behind them giving off a pissed aura and snarling. The two refused to talk as the girls kept making fun of them like they weren't even there. "I bet Hidan and Deidara spend more time on their hair than anyone else! Probably more time than you spend on clothes!" Deidara and Hidan both huffed with anger and grabbed one girl's wrist. _

_ "Come on, yeah. I thought you guys didn't want us to be late for class." The two started to speed walk, dragging Sakura and Ino with them. "Or do you want the school to call our parents and us get in trouble?" He felt Sakura stiffen in his grip and turned to her eyes wide and face contorted in horror. Before he could ask her anything, she took off like a rocket with Deidara stumbling to keep up with her. After a few minutes, he was finally able to catch his footing and stopped her, placing is hands on his shoulders. "Sakura, is something wrong?"_

_ Realizing her mistake, she laughed nervously. "Sorry, I didn't want to get into trouble with my dad. He has very… mean punishments." She flinched lightly as she recalled the memories of her 'punishments'. Deidara nodded his head at the explanation and took her hand in his, softly ordering her to walk with him. They both walked slowly, waiting for Ino and Hidan to catch up, which could be awhile. "Did I really run that fast…?" Sakura asked, sounding slightly amazed. Deidara chuckled softly and nodded his head. "Oops… Ahahahaha…" She began to laugh nervously, scratching the back of her head._

_ The sound of gravel upon plastic souls of sneakers caused them to pause in their walk and turn around to see Hidan and Ino red faced and panting hard. They both bent over and placed their hands on their knees, trying to regain the breath they had lost from the relentless run to find their friends. Ino took in one large, last gulp of refreshing air before opening her mouth. "Sakura, are you okay? Did you see someone or something back there because you shot off like a rocket with Deidara and I was worried that you-" Ino continued to ramble on, much to the dismay of Hidan. _

_ Wanting for the endless tirade of words and sentences to stop coming out of the blonde's mouth, Hidan soon became annoyed and placed his hand over the blonde's lips. "Yes, as you know thanks to Ino describing from how the world was created to now, we were worried that something made you scared to dart off like that and drag Deidara along with you. Dang it, Ino, don't lick my hand! That won't work anyway!" Ino sent him an icy glare over his hand as gave her a disgusted look. "Anyway, we don't need to call the cops or anything, right? We are all good?" When everyone nodded, he pulled his hand away from Ino and whipped it on his pants. "Then let's go!" _

_ Ino crossed her arms and started grumbling under her breath, and Sakura caught the words 'jerk face', 'pasty skin', and 'stupid, nasty hand'. Deidara just snickered at his younger sister, already forgetting that his hand was holding Sakura's. "Ne, Deidara, can you let go of my hand now? I think I can walk on my own." She whispered to him. He gave her a sort of confused look before looking at their entwined fingers and blushing. He uttered a soft 'Sorry.' before letting go of her hand. Sakura skipped over to Ino and the two started to giggle in a matter of seconds. With a sigh, Deidara stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked up to Hidan. _

_ "Haha, what's wrong Deidara? Jealous that your little sister gets to talk to your crush more than you do? Hmm? Hmmmmm?" His blonde eyebrow began to twitch as Hidan teased and laughed at him. Curling his fingers into a fist, his knuckles turned white from the force it took to keep control from not punching Hidan in the face. "Maybe we should dress you up in a skirt and have Sakura mistake as Ino! Then you could hang out with her more-" Hidan wasn't able to finish the sentence when a fist met his cheek and sent him the ground. _

_ Ino turned around when Deidara walked past them nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets and saw Hidan laying on the ground. With a stern look on her face, she placed her hands on her hips. "Hidan, you lazy man, get up. We don't have time to sleep. School starts in a few minutes, you idiot!" She heard a slight 'Nrghhh' sound from his lips as he tried to stand up, one hand on his cheek. There was a slight scowl on his face as one half of it looked to be turning a dark purple color. He sent a glare to Deidara, who was walking calmly with Sakura next to him._

_ "Well I'm so sorry that Deidara just decided to punch me and knock me to the ground!" His voice dripped with sarcasm. Ino merely rolled her blue eyes before walking away and leaving him on the ground to help himself up. "No, I don't need any help, either! You can just walk away! I got this, guys!" When he got nothing in response, he lifted his head to see Deidara walking with the two girls flanking his sides. "H-hey! Where are you guys going!? What about me!? Aren't you going to wait for me?" Hidan scrambled to get up and almost fell twice while running up to them._

_ Ino, who was innocently looking at him with puppy eyes, spoke first. "But you said we could walk away and you didn't need our help so we listened to what you said." Deidara gave an amused snort while Sakura giggled lightly. Ino and Sakura high fived when Hidan 'Humph'-ed and stomped away, arms crossed and eyes mad. "Hidan, you walked past the school! It's over this way!" He stopped, turned on his heel and walked the way Ino had pointed out, grumbling things under his breath. "Well no need to be such a grouchy bum about it, you zombie man!" _

_ "Ino, let's stop making fun of Hidan, we still have classes and the new kid is going to greeted at the beginning of it. If we are late, we might not meet him __**and **__have to stay in during recess while the teacher calls our parents." Sakura stated nervously, wringing her hands together. Ino merely cocked her head to the side but decided to not ask anything and rushed to class with Sakura, Deidara strolling behind them, not in any hurry to get to class on time. Hidan was standing at the front of the school, tapping his leg on the concrete ground in annoyance. _

_ When the two girls passed him and opened the door, the cool air conditioning blowing him in the face, his face scrunched up into a look of anger as the blonde continued his languid stroll to the building. "Hurry your ass up, you girly man! We don't have all day!" Hidan nearly ripped his hair out from frustration when the blonde started to __**slow down. **__He was wearing his signature amused smirk, blue eyes dancing with mirth while watching Hidan about to throw a temper tantrum. The gray haired male was snarling and throwing horrible curses his way like no tomorrow. _

_ "Don't get your panties in a bunch, yeah. I'm here now so let's go since you are so scared of being late for our class. This is so unlike you, by the way. Hidan Jashin, scared of actually being for class. Never thought the day would come, yeah!" Deidara chuckled lightly while ducking to dodge the fist Hidan sent his way. The young, purple eyed boy walked into the building, slamming the door open so loudly, the security guard at the desk jumped, grumbling things under his breath. Deidara was just smirking next to him, looking as though it was hard to control the laughter that was about to bubble out. _

_**#6#7#8**_

_ Ino and Sakura walked calmly into the room, the teacher writing the day's activities on the chalk board while glancing down at the small book in her hand every few words. The rest of the kids were all talking together except for the lonely blonde in the corner. "Hey, Ino, do think that's the new kid?" Sakura whispered while pointing over to the blue eyed boy. Ino looked over to him, eyes squinting before she nodded. "Well, why don't we go say hi to him? He looks lonely. Maybe he hasn't made any friends yet?" Ino smiled and the two walked over to him._

_ "Hi, you must be the new kid. I'm Ino Yamanaka and this is my best friend, Sakura Haruno! What's your name?" The boy looked up and blushed at the two girls. His sapphire colored eyes darted away in a shy move, his fingers twiddling together. Ino, not comprehending that he was being shy, thought he was ignoring them and scowled placing her hands on her hips. "Hey, boy, I am talking to you. Can't you at least tell u your name? I mean, we were just trying to be polite and see if you wanted to be our friend. You did look lonely being in the corner with everyone else over there." Ino motioned toward the other kids._

_ The blonde frowned as he watched them draw and talk and laugh. He had walked over there to play but they casted him aside, calling him a loser and stupid. "They were being mean to me. They wouldn't let me play with them." A sudden idea popped into his head and he nearly got whiplash from turning to look at the girls so fast. Ino and Sakura both had shocked faces. "If I tell you guys my name, will you let me play with you?" Sakura was the one who nodded, not even looking at Ino for permission. The blonde grinned widely, looking for everything like the Cheshire cat. "Well then, my name is Naruto Uzumaki! And I will be the next Hokage, dattebayo!" The girls giggled at his exclamation before sitting down next to him and starting a conversation with the hyperactive boy._

Sakura's eyes flew open at the sudden crack of thunder. Blinking away the sleep in her eyes, she squinted her eyes to see the time on the wall clock next to the bed. **6:38 A.M.** It was too early for her to wake up on a break. When she attempted to turn over to back to sleep, she realized she couldn't. Her body froze up when the arm around her waist tightened. Taking in a deep breath, she looked over her shoulder to see who was holding her captive and blinked in surprise.

Blonde hair was spilling over one side of the face as a lone blue eye locked with her green ones. There was a red tint on both of their faces as the two stared at each other dumbly. Another sudden crack of thunder caused Sakura to squeak and push herself more into Deidara. The older boy held her, making soft cooing nonsense to keep her calm. She seemed to relax in his embrace before turning to face him, laughing nervously, a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry about that, Deidara. I'm just very scared of thunder storms." She felt him shift to sit up, running his hands through his hair to get the tangles out and hissed when she felt fabric brush over her shredded arms.

Not noticing the hiss from the younger girl, Deidara gave her a soft smile. "That's fine, yeah. You told me last night so I wasn't really shocked. Anyway, where you having a nightmare or something? It sounded like you were whimpering every time you moved, yeah." His smile turned into a look of worry as he stared into her eyes, looking for anything that would give him an answer. Sakura froze slightly, know the exact reason why she was whimpering. Her eyes darted to her cloth covered arm before meeting his worried, bright blue eyes, a forced smile curling her lip upwards.

Using the part of her arms that weren't shredded, she lifted herself up into a sitting position. "I'm fine, no need to worry!" The fake happiness in her voice made her want to flinch but she was able to restrain herself from doing it. She quickly ran a hand through her hair and scowled at the greasy feeling in it. Looking over at Deidara, she saw him stretching on the edge of his bed, next to her. "Ne, Deidara do you mind if I use your shower? My hair really needs it. I kind of rushed out yesterday morning without taking one."

Hearing his approved grunt and his head shake, Sakura swung her legs over the side of the bed and felt her cheeks burn a bright red color. She wasn't wearing any pants or shorts. Her eyes darted to Deidara-who was brushing his hair in a mirror to her slight amusement- and back to her legs. She had sleep in his bed. Without pants. _She slept in his bed with only a shirt on. _Lord above, if she didn't faint now, she hoped she wouldn't in the bathroom across from his bed. She got up and walked briskly to the bathroom, closing the door as fast as she could.

With a breath of relief, she flicked the switch on. A scowl drug the corners of her lips down when the light didn't turn on. Flickering the switch up and down a few more times with the same results, the memory of the lights going out last night hit her. With a groan, Sakura began to strip of her clothes-_**not **_thinking about how Deidara was in the room past the wooden door- and nearly tripped walking to the showering. _Remind me, __**why**__ didn't we bring a candle with us? _Sakura ignored her Inner's taunting, not wanting to trip and end up cracking her head.

Using her arms to feel around the room, Sakura took small steps, making sure to not trip over any carpet in the perimeter. She felt so exposed and awkward, trying to not trip in Deidara's bathroom while being naked. In _Deidara's bathroom. _Embarrassing could not begin to describe how she felt at that moment, Inner Sakura having a field day, practically throwing a party of one while laughing at Sakura's position. She was sure her face was so red, you would be able to distinguish it in the darkened room. With all the blood rushing to her face, Sakura knew that she would end up passing out if she couldn't find the shower because _damn _was this bathroom long!

_Speak of the devil and he shall appear._ Her chin hit the edge of the-what she thought to be, but couldn't tell since she was in the dark-white tub. Thanking everybody up there, she easily stepped into shower, pulling the clear and then tan colored curtains so water wouldn't spray out, refusing to listen to her Inner as she suggested that Deidara might walk in to peep at her. Her hand grasped the knob of the shower and she fumbled trying to turn it on in the dark. Well, her morning was going just _splendid. _She honestly didn't think it could worse, and if it could, she prayed it wouldn't.

Warm water splashed on her skin and she suddenly remembered the bandages on her arms. After a minute of contemplating it, Sakura chose to leave them on her arms, not wanting for the fabric of her shirt to sink into the openings between skin. She reached up and groped around for a bottle and wrapped her fingers around the smooth bottle, bringing it to her eye level. Squinting to read the print on the label in the dark, she placed it the floor so she would know where the conditioner was when the time came and continued her groping until she finally found the shampoo.

The scent that met her nose when she put the contents in her hand was a deep forest-pine. Earthy. The same from last when she had walked into his room. The blush that had finally disappeared returned lightly, her lips curling up into a smile unconsciously. She rubbed her scalp and ran her soaped soaked hands through her hair, washing away all the dirt and grease and everything else that ruined her hair. She kept her eyes closed as she placed her head under the water, the soap falling along with the droplets from the end of her odd colored strands.

Easily picking up the conditioner bottle, she put a small amount of the forest scented liquid into her palm, closing the cap with a soft '_click'_ the echoed with the sound of rain patting on the window. Rubbing the conditioner in her hands and between her fingers, she pushed all her hair onto top of her head and rubbed it in and between the pink strands, the warm water hitting her back and sending her to a calm state of mind. She felt the drops dance on her shoulders before jumping off to the porcelain floor. Repeating the process of removing the conditioner, she turned off the warm water and stepped out.

Only to realize she didn't have a towel. Slapping her forehead from exasperation, She looked around the bathroom as best as she could to see if there was possibly a hidden towel somewhere. No such luck. Her face went from a pale color to a bright red in a matter of five seconds flat as she realized she was going to have to _walk out _and ask Deidara for a towel. Everything was just against her that morning. Somebody up there was just having a _ball _at her misfortune, she knew. Because how does this all happen to _one _person in _one _morning?

Swearing quietly under her breath, she shuffled through the clothes she brought in-which wasn't much, mind you- to see what would cover her the most. And of course it was his shirt. Slipping it on over her head-still naked, too- Sakura inwardly groaned. This was so weird and awkward and oh lord, she didn't know _how _it could get any worse than it was right now. Swallowing hard, she made her way to the door, careful of the clothes strewn about on the floor. Her hands were still groping around the room, searching for a door handle. She felt amazingly stupid for not bringing a candle. Finally grasping the cool metal, she opened the door slowly and popped her head out, only to blush a color that matched her hair.

Deidara stood on front of his closet, his shirt laying on the bed. She watched, her mouth agape, as Deidara started to take off his pants. Coming out of her revere when the skin of his hips began showing, Sakura squeaked and coughed, causing his attention to turn towards her, his hair out of the ponytail and looking a fire orange in the dim candle light. His brow was raised, his hands still on the edge of his pants, blue locked with green. "D-do yo-ou h-have a t-owel I-I could u-use?" Her voice was shaky and squeaky, portraying exactly how embarrassed and nervous and awkward she felt.

Deidara just stared at her questioningly, watching her squirm lightly under his gaze. Why would she come out in his shirt asking for a towel? As he realized that his shirt was the _only thing _she was wearing and that she had forgotten a towel, a large blush bloomed over his cheeks. They were just staring at each other now, blushes noticeable in the dark. Removing his hands from the edge of his pants, he quietly moved around the closet, searching for a towel. The uncomfortable silence had him nearly choking and he could only hope to find a towel and that she would _stop staring at him. _

Finally locating the requested fabric, he turned his body toward her, his face looking elsewhere while tossing it to her. He heard her quiet 'Thanks.' before she scurried back to the bathroom. He made a soft groaning sound before continuing to remove his jeans, seeing how he had forgotten to change out them last night while making sure Sakura kept calm. He was just pulling up the gray sweatpants around his waist when the bathroom opened with a soft squeak and Sakura came out, towel wrapped around her head. She looked up at him right then and looked away in embarrassment.

She wasn't wearing pants to cover her legs and his shirt barely stopped at her thigh. Making sure his eyes didn't look over anything too low, he grabbed the smallest pair of pants he had and threw them to her. She sent him a questioning look, her head tilted slightly to one side. "You looked like you could use a pair of pants, yeah." He caught her nodding her head in his peripherally vision as she quickly slid the pants on. He casted his eyes the other way when he noticed them following the top of the pants while they covered her legs. A deep blush coated his cheeks when he felt the urge to look over at her again.

And then he felt a small pressure on his shoulder and turned around. She gave him a soft smile that he awkwardly returned. "So, Deidara, what's the plan for today? I mean, it's early and still raining, so there isn't that much to do. Oh, and the electricity is still out." Sakura was looking up at him with large, green, curious eyes. He leaned over and placed his hand on the wall next to him, drumming his fingers on the gray wall, his bright eyes staring down at her with a look that said he wasn't entirely sure of what to do.

With a sigh, he pushed lightly off the wall and turned to close the closet door and picking up the clothes he had worn yesterday. "I'm not sure. There really is nothing to do and Ino is out of the house." He brought his hand up and scratched his neck, furrowing his eyebrows together as he looked out the window. "And we can't go out for a drive, yeah. The rain is coming down too hard." His blue eyes locked with her green ones and he raised an eyebrow. "You have any suggestions?"

She shook her head in a negative response and squeaked when a loud crack of thunder resounded throughout the room. She wrapped her arms around Deidara's waist and shut her eyes tight when lightning flashed in the room, washing it in a bright color that dimmed out the orange for a second. Deidara hesitated before he placed his arms around her shoulders, rubbing up and down her back in a comforting way while all the same bringing her closer to him. The thunder and lightning started to become a little more frequent and Deidara had to make soft cooing noises and run his figure through her hair to keep her calm.

With a sigh, he squatted slightly and wrapped an arm around the back side of her knees and shifted his right arm to her shoulder blades. He straightened his back and held her against his chest, heading to the door. It took him a few seconds to open, what with carrying a nervous girl in his arms and all.

When the door finally opened, he moved out to the hallway slowly, making sure to not hit Sakura's head on the door frame and made his way over to the staircase. He walked down them slowly, keeping watch of his feet while stretching his neck to one side. He had to make sure he didn't trip and fall down the steps, hurting her in the process.

A small buzz in his head made him backtrack on his last thought as he realized he cared more about her safety than his if he did trip when he was the one who would be more likely to get the most damage since he would cover her with his body. A small smile tugged his lips and he looked down at the girl who was hugging his neck tightly.

When he finally got to the bottom of the steps, he bit his bottom lip in thought, holding Sakura tighter to his chest when a sudden clap of the thunder rang out loudly and she whimpered. Deidara turned his head to the right and thought of the rooms- master bedroom, game room, and bathroom- then turned to left and thought of those rooms- kitchen, living room, and his mom's study. Feeling the small rumble his stomach, Deidara chose the left hallway.

He walked through the living room first and placed Sakura on the purple velvet couch and sighed when her arms tightened around his neck, not allowing him to leave. "Sakura, let go, I'll be back in a second. I'm just going to get cereal for us to eat." She gave him a nervous look before slowly removing her arms from his neck. He gave her a soft smile before ruffling her hair and walking to the door that led to the kitchen.

Sakura grabbed the soft, fluffy, red pillow by her feet and brought it to her chest, watching the storm rage outside with a nervous look. Her legs were shaking and her palms were sweating. She had been scared of thunder storms ever since the first one she dealt with after her mother died. The memory still gave her nightmares. She closed her eyes as the memory came to mind, still too scared to deal with it alone.

_7 year old Sakura sat on the couch, looking out the window at the storm that seemed to be raging for no reason. She held an ice pack to her cheek, the bruises from her father hitting her swelling slightly. She jumped at the thunder and flashing lightning, the rain starting to come down harder. In all honesty, it looked beautiful to her, especially the gray clouds moving slowly in the sky like they had all the time in the world to reach their destination. Her hand reached out and touched the window, flinching lightly at the contact of cold glass on her hot hand. _

_ A sudden bang had nearly made her jump off the couch and she turned around to see angry blue eyes glaring holes at her. She small body began to shake as the man stalked over to her, his face as red as his hair and his breath smelled like alcohol. Too much alcohol. Green eyes widened in horror as she watched the large hand that belonged to her father raise up and closed her eyes when she felt the contact of his knuckles, on her cheek, knocking her to the floor, the ice pack sliding on the floor to the other side of the room. As more and more and hits and punches befell on her, Sakura watched the torrent of water slam onto the window, suddenly feeling complete horror._

Sakura made a small whimper in the back of her throat, her body shaking involuntarily at the horrible memory. She took a deep, shaky breath to try to keep calm, wincing when the rain started to come down harder. Another flash of lightning caused the room to be washed in bright light and shadows to become more defined. Shivers ran up and down her back when the shadow of a dresser leaned over her in an eerie way.

A few seconds later, Deidara came through the door, cursing lightly under his breath as he carried two ceramic bowls with a plastic spoon in each. He looked up at her and she noticed annoyance in his blue eyes and wondered what happened. Before she had the chance to ask, he handed her a bowl. "Here, yeah. Sorry I took so long. I had a hard time seeing in the dark and nearly broke a few plates." He gave a sigh as he sat down next to her, not hesitating in the slightest with digging into his food. Sakura watched him for a second before looking in her bowl.

She felt the pain of hunger hit her like a wave, her stomach rumbling slightly at the image of food. She slowly, almost hesitantly, began to eat, not trusting herself enough to eat like Deidara with the storm trying to turn itself into a tsunami right outside the window. He was watching her from the corner of his eyes, scowling as he noticed the way her face seemed to be form a permanent empty look. He placed the white bowl down on the table top in front of them and turned to her.

"Sakura," he called to her gently, his voice soft. Sakura turned to look at him with curious eyes, the spoon halfway from the bowl to her mouth. "Are you okay, yeah? You seem…" he struggled with the word, trying to look for something that wouldn't offend her but could convey the message, "_troubled_." He watched as her eyes widened in surprise then turned to look out the window for a split second before darting back to look in the bowl. His eyes sharpened a little, giving her a look that told her to explain what was wrong with a gentle gleam underling the command.

Sakura noticed both looks- blushing slightly at the tender one, though- and sighed while placing the ceramic bowl on the wooden table top. She shyly met his eyes, fidgeting under the intensity of his gaze. He seemed to notice for his eyes softened slightly. After rubbing her thumbs together for a second, she met his eyes again. "Well, you see, the first storm I experienced that was like this one was just a few days after my mother's death,"_ when my father decided to beat me, _"and I guess it just sunk into my subconscious that thunderstorms link with my mom's death." _I mean they link with my father and his horrible beatings. _

Deidara seemed to believe this, which she was most thankful for. She didn't feel like explaining to him that her father was abusive. The look in his eyes changed from demanding to sympathy, and it felt like he wanted to hug her, but was holding back. She bit her lip to keep from smiling at his sweetness- him wanting to hug her and comfort her but holding back, not knowing if he should for her sake. She slipped closer to him on the couch, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his shoulder, tears threatening to spill out over her lashes. Almost immediately, she felt the weight of his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that after your mother died." He murmured into her hair, fingers playing with the short, candy colored strands. "It must have been hard on you, not having your mom there to comfort you while you were scared. I wish you and Ino had met sooner. I could have been there to make sure you weren't hurt or anything, yeah." He felt Sakura spasm and then tremble lightly, and then his shoulder was suddenly wet. His grip tightened around her, his eyes narrowing slightly. He wanted to ask why her father hadn't been there, why he hadn't tried to help her cope with the pain. But he didn't, knowing she probably didn't want to talk about her mother the day after her anniversary.

He was just contended to keep her safe in his arms, away from the pain. He hoped his hugs were enough to make her feel better. The girl had the worst life he could imagine, always being bullied, her mother dying-and his father as the doctor, no less. Maybe that was why he started a flower business? - and a father who barely paid her any attention. He felt Sakura shift in the embrace and pulled back slightly though still keeping his arms around her. She moved her head to sit on his bare chest, right above his heart and held onto his waist tighter.

It was then when she started to cry harder. Her green eyes went blood shot and her face blotchy with small tear streaks racing down her cheeks and plopping onto his pants from her chin. He rubbed his palm in between her shoulder blades in comforting circles, not wanting her to cry like she was. It pained him when he had to watch her cry. He placed his cheek on her head and nearly started to growl when he heard her soft sobs, muffled from her face being pressed into his chest. She shifted again, moving her shoulders under his armpit.

He placed his hand on her skull and held her face to his chest, the other arm slipping down to her waist to keep her pressed to him. He was showing her that he would be there for her whenever she needed him and that he would do anything for her. He told her through his actions that, yes, she was cared for, and not just by him. He told her that he would help her throughout all her heartbreaks and everything else, he would be by her side. He told her that she was never alone and never would be again. He told her he promised to keep her protected from harm.

As her eyes slipped closed, the warmth of his body and the background noise from the rain, she couldn't help the smile that happened.

**#6#7#8 **_(Hey, guys, important author's note at the end. Please read!)_

_ The sun was shining down on the water of the small river that rushed by in a flit of blue and green and gray. Large eyes watched in wonder as small fish danced around the rocks at the bottom and swam at the top. Small, pudgy hands reached out for one, fingers wrapping around one before it dashed off in the other direction, tail swishing. The grass around her ankles tickled the skin in an uncomfortable way and she lifted it up to scratch the skin that turned red from the long nails. The trees around her reached up into the bright, blue sky, soft clouds floating now and then. _

_ Her head cocked to one side, starring up at the small, white shapes and suddenly wondered what it was like to sit on one. Would she even be able to? Or would she fall through? Was the cloud wet? Or are they dry? Millions of questions ran through her head all at once, her young mind being very curious at everything she looked at. But it was normal for her. She wanted to know about everything and everyone in the world which made her mind react with a large amount of questions at every new thing that passed her eyes. _

_ A cool breeze passed and caressed her skin, causing her arms to break out in goose bumps. A small shiver racked her body as the autumn air wrapped around her. She lifted her arms and rubbed from her shoulder to her elbows, thinking it was a bad idea to wear such a thin strapped shirt and skirt. She felt a sudden warmth envelope her shoulders and she turned around to grin at her older brother, glad he had brought her a blanket to keep warm. "Thanks, Deidara! You're the best oldest brother ever!" Her squeaky, childish voice said. Deidara returned Ino's smile before walking back to their parents on the picnic blanket. _

Ino opened her eyes with a small groan, looking around the hotel room for a second. A small smile was on her face as she recalled the dream of her and her brother with their parents at a picnic. She pushed herself up from her position and nearly fell out of the bed at a sudden crack of loud thunder. She scowled at the window, watching the storm go off relentlessly. The room was chilled enough to cause her shiver and Ino could have smacked her forehead for not wearing any long pants or sleeves. She groaned and shivered again when she placed her foot on the wooden floorboards.

Walking over to the table with her small bag, she didn't notice the floor creak and groan in protest to her weight. She first pulled out a pair of socks – neon green – and grabbed her phone next to the bag. **8:27**. With another groan, Ino dug through the black bag, searching for warm clothes. Looking back out the window, she decided it was okay enough to take a shower. Lightning hadn't struck yet, so she figured it was good enough weather to take a shower in. But just in case, she gave small prayer that she wouldn't be electrocuted in the water.

She opened the door to the small, white room and flicked on the light. She pursed lips in approval of the clean room, nodding her head slightly as she laid her clothes on the red marble counter. Moving to the shower, she switched the water on so it would be warm when she stepped in and moved the shower curtain to cover the space before stripping of her tank top and shorts. She 'eep'-ed at the sudden chills that went up and down her body before she pulled out her messy bun, letting her blonde hair spill over her shoulders.

Quickly stepping into the shower, she gave a soft sigh as the hot water and air surrounded her. Letting the water drop onto her for a second, she let her tense muscles relax. She hissed lightly when the water dropped into her cuts on her arms. She looked at them for a second, noticing they weren't deep or long. She must have scraped them when she fell at Konan's house. With a roll of her eyes, she began to wash her body, going lightly over the small cuts and being sure not to make them raw. Rinsing off all the soap, she decided not to wash the mesh sponge – it took too long in her opinion – she began to riffle through the rest of the bottles.

Looking at the plain shampoo bottle, she wondered what it smelt like and moved to change the temperature of the water when it started to get cool. Opening the top of bottle, she brought it close to her nose and sniffed, sighing a little as the fragrance of oranges filled her nostrils. She brought her long hair up towards her head to get more of it cleaned and gave a frustrated groan when a lot of it kept slipping past her fingers. Letting her hair stay under the warm water, Ino reached out for the conditioner before getting the rest of the shampoo from her hair and doing the same with the conditioner, growling as her slipped from her grasp.

After awhile, Ino finally stepped out, whimpering slightly from the chilled air. Reaching for the clothes on the counter first, she didn't bother with locating a towel. She wiggled into her bra and panties before practically jumping into her sweatpants and long sleeved shirt. With both giving her warmth, she grabbed the gray towel with the hotel's initial printed in red cursive at the bottom. She wrapped it around her head, her blonde hair all somehow tucked into it. Getting her pajamas, Ino walked out and curled her toes when some of the cold still got past her clothes. She moved over to her bag and stuffed her old clothes in it, not paying much attention to where they went, and took the towel from her head, throwing it on her bed.

Lifting the strap onto her shoulder, she placed her _Bear Paw_ boots on and opened the door, the key to the room in her hand. Walking down the corridor, she heard and saw nobody else, figuring they were all still sleeping or just lazing around their rooms since the storm was still raging on outside. She pursed her lips in thought, wondering if it would be the best idea to drive on the road with the weather like it was before shrugging it off. She was Ino Yamanaka. She could do anything and everything she set her mind to.

The man at the counter gave her a look of shock and wary when Ino handed him the key, wondering why someone would want to drive outside at this hour with the weather trying to kill the city at the moment. When she started to walk away, he called out to her. "Drive safely!" he warned and saw the blonde nod before opened the tall doors and walk out to the parking lot, jogging to her car to keep as much rain from her as possible.

Ino unlocked the car right when she exited the building, seeing as how it would be easier and she wouldn't get as soaked while standing next to it and fumbling with her keys. She jogged at a quick pace, one that would make sure she got to her car fast but at the same time, she wouldn't trip on her ass. The rain was freezing her arms and legs slightly as her clothes clung to her body and she was suddenly thankful for wearing dark clothes instead of white. And that nobody else was around to see her. It would have been so weird and awkward had she caught someone staring at her.

When she was next to her car, she wasted no time in opening the door and slamming it closed behind her, placing the key in the ignition to start it up. The first thing she was turn up the heat in the car to full blast and giving a blissful sigh as she sat in the car for a second, relishing in the warmth that spread around small space. A sudden ringing made her shoot up from her car seat and she rummaged through the bag to locate the phone. Finally finding it, she raised an eyebrow at the caller ID.

"Hello?" she asked after she flipped the phone open, annoyance creeping into her tone from just seeing the person's name.

"_Now, now kitty. Don't pull out the damn claws on me, seriously." _The voice on the other line chuckled lightly at her aggravated tone. "_I just called to ask if you could come to my house and pick me up. I wanna see how your plan with Dei and Sakura went. They could be shagging up on his bed right now while we talk!" _

Ino sputtered at Hidan, blushing a bright res as she imagined her brother and best friend in his bed, doing who knows what. Choking down the rest of her shock, Ino snapped out the first thing that came to mind. "They _**are not **_'shagging up' in my brother's bed! Sakura wouldn't do that and Deidara wouldn't take advantage of her when she is scared, you sick bastard!"

She heard Hidan snort from the other end before he sighed. "_Look, can you just pick me up from my house? I want to see what happened! They might not be going at it, but they could be cuddling! That would mean progress! Now hurry up, blondie! I want to see them!" _Before Ino could come up with a reply, Hidan hung up the phone. She gave an annoyed sigh before putting the gear shift into drive and heading over to Hidan's house where she could beat the shit out of him properly.

**#6#7#8**

**There is chapter 5! Okay, first things first, I'm going into a shirt rage. Eh-hem. WOULD YOU GUYS PLEASE VOTE ON MY POLL!? I DIDN'T LEAVE IT THERE FOR MY PURPOSES! I WANT TO KNOW WHICH STORY YOU GUYS WANT WHEN THIS ONE IS OVER! I'm calm now. Also, I'm working on a long DeixSaku one-shot, as in more than one chapter, and I will post it up whenever I'm finished with the entire thing. Chapter One of it is finished. Here is a small tidbit:** Standing there was a girl who looked to be about 12 or 13 with short, pink hair and jade green eyes, a red qipao dress, and pale skin. It took a few seconds to see the kunai holder on her thigh and the blue forehead protector placed neatly atop her head. Raising an eyebrow, he met her eyes. She seemed a little flustered, her cheeks a soft pink. "Ahaha, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could sit here. All the other seats are taken."**Anywho… Do you guys think I should add Suigetsu in later chapters? Like, should he be the new kid in their school? Or do you think it should be someone else I haven't said yet? They will have a good part in the story that revolves around the HidaxIno relationship. And as you know, Ino is trying to hook up her best friend and brother with crazy Hinata trying to get in the way! And Tenten is admiring Hidan from afar(as said in earlier chapters). Now, what is your alls favorite AkatsukixKuniochi (ex- PeinxHina) couple? Mine is DeixSaku (shocker right?) Oh, have any of you just looked at someone and started shaking and fell mad for no reason? I do that when I see my dad… Is that bad? ONE LAST THING BECAUSE I NEED TO STOP ADDING THINGS! I want to do an Ino one-shot, but who should the boy be? (Hidan, Suigetsu, or Sasuke…?) **

**Review and vote please! Thank you! **

**(2****nd**** A.N.)- Okay, so what I said about the voting is true, but I want your guy's honest opinion. Tell me if you like the summary for 'Friends Forever' and if you don't please vote on another story. If you do, please tell me in a review, it would be much appreciated. **

Friends Forever

When Sasuke comes back to the village, Sakura and Ino are overjoyed. Though they dropped all feeling for him, they still cared. But two girls take it differently and play nasty; they do horrendous crimes around the village disguised as Ino and Sakura. The two are exiled from the village as these girls begin to take over their lives. Sakura and Ino soon learn that even though they are rivals, they are still best friends and decide to take the journey together. Along the way, they bump into the Akatsuki duo Sasori and Deidara in a cave. Both groups soon learn that they have a lot in common, aside from the looks. All four team up to rise against Konoha and the Akatsuki, which they had escaped from, that are trying to take over the world. They join ranks with Sound, who they found out had been trying to stop this from the beginning. But during this rebellion, can the four stop themselves from falling in love with each other? Friendship- InoxSaku/SasoxDei Brother/Sister thing- DeixIno/SasoxSaku Romance- DeixSaku/SasoxIno


	6. Deidara's Surprise Sandwiches

My Best Friend's Brother

_ The teacher placed the small book on her woodened desk, a smile on her face as she looked over the day's events. She clapped her hands to rid it of the chalk dust still lingering on her palm or fingertips. Turning to the class, she gave a soft whistle. When the small chattering of the students stopped and attention turned to them, she grinned bigger. "Okay, everyone, we have a new student today. Can you please come up to introduce yourself?" She gave Naruto a small smile while motioning him over. The blonde boy blushed lightly and had to have Sakura and Ino push him from his seat to get him to move. _

_ Naruto shifted his weight from one leg to the other, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. All the kids were looking at him with annoyed expressions, wanting him to talk. He gave a nervous smile while scratching the back of his head, eyes darting from Ino to Sakura to the window before he cleared his throat and gave a bright smile, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you! I love ramen and the color orange! I also love people who don't exclude others just because of appearances!" He shot the two girls a smile which was returned. "What I hate the most is having to wait the three minutes for the ramen to cook." _

_ Some people in the class giggled at how he had said the last part sadly before perking up when he heard the soft fits of laughter with a wide grin on his face. The teacher shook her head and waved Naruto to his seat, turning back to the board so she could explain what was going to happen that day. _

_ When Naruto returned to his seat, he noticed Ino and Sakura were lightly giggling behind their hands, trying to stifle the small, bubbling laughs. Naruto pouted at them, wanting to know what they – and everyone else in the room- had found so funny. He was being honest about the entire thing, so he just couldn't understand it - he was just happy that everyone didn't make fun of him. "What's so funny, guys? H-hey! Stop laughing at me! I didn't do anything! Guys! This isn't funny at all!" He whined as the two burst into giggles and soft snorts. His pout got bigger as the two continued to laugh at his expanse._

_ "Okay, okay, settle down." The teacher gave Ino and Sakura a pointed look and the two calmed down, twitching only slightly while trying to keep the giggles in. Naruto sat there with a smug look that they had been caught the teacher, effectively earning himself two glares. "Now, today we will be learning how to write in cursive! Everyone, pull out your notebooks and pencils!" She picked up some chalk from the board and held it in her palms, watching as all the kids pull out their notebook with a smile on her face._

_ Naruto had a confused face and looked at the two girls who had pulled out their paper and were writing in sloppy cursive. He looked back at the board and watched as the teacher wrote sentence after sentence in curly letters with that looked nothing like the ones he was taught back at his old school. Leaning over in his seat slightly, he tapped on Ino's shoulder. She turned her head slowly as she continued writing one word, not wanting to mess up. "How do I write like this? We were never taught to write in cursive at my old school." _

_ Ino blinked at him before shrugging her shoulders. "We were just taught last week. We watched a few videos on it while practicing. I guess you're going to have to ask Ms. Kei. I'm sorry." Ino gave a sorrowful look before turning back to her paper, trying to catch up in the work._

_ Naruto sighed and twiddled his fingers, fidgeting in his seat. Taking a breath and swallowing, Naruto raised his hand slightly, not liking when people glanced at him with weird faces. Ms. Kei turned around and looked at him, her eyebrow raised in a silent question. He cleared his throat when he found it to be a bit scratchy. "Ms. Kei, I, err, was never taught how to write in cursive. Can you teach me?" The teacher smiled at him and beckoned him over with her finger, the piece of chalk going back to the holder in the board. Naruto grinned widely and while grabbing his pencil and notebook, skipping to the front of the class. _

_ Ms. Kei sat down at her desk, grabbing the red flower pen that sat on her pencil cup. She set the notebook in front of her and drew the letters in perfect cursive, going slow so Naruto could see the curves she made in each letter. After every letter, he would try to do the same. Though they came out sloppy, he was making progress quickly. "Is that better, Naruto? Or do you want more practice? You can ask Sakura, she is pretty good." Naruto grinned at her, shaking his head as his cerulean eyes traced over each letter he had written, his grin widening. _

_ He ran back to his seat and showed Ino with a large amount of joy how he had written in _cursive. _He had never thought that he would be able to write in it, albeit sloppily, but still. _

_ The rest of the day went by quickly, Naruto hanging out with Ino and Sakura in every class and in lunch. He learned quickly that many people had liked either girl and wondered why but never asked. All day in every class, many people would send them glares and would call them mean things when they were passed by in the hallway. While Naruto would frown and snap back, Ino and Sakura kept calm composures and smiles, not even paying attention to anyone or what they said. _

_ At the end of the school day, Naruto was walking out with his new friends to the playground. The two suddenly stopped and turned around quickly with stern looks on their faces. Ino was the first to speak. "Naruto, listen, you are going to meet my older brother and his best friend." He nodded his head slowly, not quite understanding what was so special about the two that he to get a warning in advance. Ino rolled her eyes and continued. "Those two are idiots and very overprotective of us. Don't act like a class clown in front of them. They will make sure you don't hang out with us anymore- at school or after." _

_ Sakura nodded her head in agreement, keeping on her stern face as she moved her hand to smooth out her green skirt. Naruto raised an eyebrow at both, wondering what could possibly be so scary about two guys who were only one or two years older than them. He shrugged his shoulders before grinning at them. "Lead the way! I ain't scared of no one! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo!" He pointed at his chest with determination swimming in his bright, blue eyes. Ino and Sakura looked at each other before turning around and walking to the doors that led outside, Naruto skipping behind them proudly. _

_ "Hey Deidara, hey Hidan! We have a new friend!" Ino called to the two boys sitting on the swings. Both glanced up when they heard the incoming footsteps and Deidara grinned at Sakura while hopping before looking at Naruto with narrowed eyes. Hidan looked up and raised his eyebrow at Naruto but said nothing. Ino brought the young blonde to her side and smiled at him and Sakura stood on the other side. "Guys, this is Naruto Uzumaki, the new kid. Naruto, this is my older brother, Deidara, and his best friend, Hidan. Now let's go home!" _

_ "Wait a second, yeah!" Deidara called, grabbing onto Sakura's wrist with a small blush adorning his cheeks. Behind him, Hidan was cackling like a maniac. The oldest blonde sent him a quick glare before turning back to Sakura, who had on a cute yet confused face. Ino was smirking lightly and Naruto was looking between all four with a raised eyebrow, his blue eyes swimming with questions. Deidara shifted his weight from one leg to the other before taking in a deep breath. "Well… I was wondering if you guys wanted to go out and eat some place. Like pizza or something." He gave an annoyed look to Naruto before continuing in a mumble. "And Naruto can come, too."_

_ The other blonde gave a whoop of joy while Sakura smile at him. "Thanks, Deidara, that was really sweet of you." She whispered in his ear while slipping her fingers down his wrist to intertwine with his. The blush on his face deepened and a goofy grin made its way onto his face when Sakura turned around to address the other three. Ino and Hidan, though, were giggling together while talking to each other, their eyes flickering toward them every few words. The pinkette's eyebrows furrowed as she and Deidara's eyes met. _

_ Sakura shrugged her shoulders before giving him a smile and dragging him over to their friends. "Hey, Ino, Hidan, stop flittering! We have to go out to eat now! Deidara and I are really hungry!" She giggled when the two named both blushed and sent glares her way. Next to her, Deidara snorted in amusement and tightened his fingers around hers, nearly leaping for joy when she did the same. Baby blue and magenta eyes shone with happiness and glee as they watched the exchange between the blonde and pinkette. Sakura gave Deidara a soft smile and ran her pinky finger across his knuckles._

_ Naruto, feeling left out, pouted at the four of them. "Hey guys! Stop ignoring me!" He whined softly. Hidan rolled his eyes while Ino and Sakura both burst into a round of giggles. Deidara snorted lightly before looking at Sakura and brushing his thumb on her knuckles, watching in glee as a pretty pink spread across her cheeks from the small amount of contact between the two of them. _

Sakura awoke feeling a large amount warmth from behind her and had a fleeting thought of _'How long was I asleep?' _before she felt the thrumming of fingers on her forearms. Blinking, she absently noticed that the rain hadn't let up any and it was still dark. A small laugh from next to her caused her to jump and squeak, another pair of arms wrapping around her waist before she fell off. "Looks like someone is finally awake, yeah. Have a good cat nap? You were asleep for a good two and a half hours." The deep voice chuckled lightly.

Sapphire green and azure blue met for a quick second and Sakura gave a small yip when he tightened his hold on her, a small blush scurrying up her cheek bones. Deidara eyed her with amusement as he pulled her back up onto the couch, once again wrapping his fingers around the same spot. Sakura immediately irrupted into giggles, twisting and turning to try to get out of his grasp. His blue eyes were shinning with a little bit too much glee for Sakura's liking and his lips twisted into a dangerous smirk as he let off his groping of her sides. She tried to calm her breathing while backing up a little, staying away from him.

Deidara would have none of that.

When her back was on the side of the couch, Deidara pounced on her. She gave a small squeal before she was laughing again. Tears started to spring up in the corners of her eyes, her body twisting and turning to get away from the onslaught of tickles. Deidara pinned her beneath him, smiling at her cute squeals and giggles. His eyes softened a bit when she started to gasp for breath, her face a bright cherry color. He finally pulled away his groping fingers and let her breathe.

"You know, it's kind of hard to breath when someone is sitting on your stomach." Sakura gasped out, wiggling under Deidara so he would get off. He blinked stupidly before he noticed that he was, _in fact, _sitting on her stomach. He gave her a sheepish smile and lifted himself onto the wooden floor next to the couch, using his hair to hide the bright blush on his face that reached his ears. Sakura's own cheeks were dusted a light pink and not just from being out of breath. With a fake cough, Sakura cleared her throat before stuttering, "S-So, uh, what are… we going to do today, Deidara?"

Said blonde turned his gaze from making out patterns from the wood to her bright, green eyes, the blush barely lessening. He scratched his chin in thought, attempting to keep his eyes from her curious gaze. Feeling a sudden bashfulness he had never felt around her much before, he squirmed under her penetrating eyes before swallowing his saliva on his suddenly dry throat. "W-Well, I'm not sure. The power is still out, so there isn't much of anything to do, yeah. Not to mention the rain hasn't let up any since yesterday. Do you have anything in mind?" He turned to her.

Sakura pondered on the question for a second, running around in her head for ideas of what they could do. A sudden idea popped into her head and a large grin that matched the Cheshire Cats spread across her lips in a scary way that had Deidara scared for a second before she opened her mouth. "Do you have your phone with you?" He gave her a weird look before taking his phone from his pocket and handing it to her. With a large, scary grin that was borderline insane, Sakura dialed a number really quickly and put the phone up to her ear, Inner Sakura cackling in her head like a crazed woman.

**#6#7#8 **_(A/N: Very important author's note at end! Please read!)_

Ino shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat. She growled and nearly punched the steering wheel when her stomach twisted into painful knots and a small burning sensation began. She gave a loud groan when she stopped at a red light and smacked her forehead to the top of the wheel. She hated getting her period. And how evil was Mother Nature to make her have it on the day she wasn't prepared and had to stop in a _gas station _to use _toilet paper?_ The sudden urge to slam a shovel in someone's head overcame her and she gripped the wheel until her knuckles turned white.

She thrummed her fingernails on the dashboard, waiting for the light to turn green. Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed nobody else driving out. The next thrum of her nails went so hard, there was crescent shaped dents in the soft material. Another round of cramps hit her hard and she would have doubled over in pain had she not been sitting down. Reaching over to her purse, she rummaged through the contents looking for a certain bottle of _Aspirin. _Finally locating the small bottle, she popped the top off and dumped four pills into her hand, swallowing them all without a sip of water. Ino sighed and slumped back into her seat when she felt the cramps disappear.

She jerked up suddenly at the loud sound of her phone ringing. With another groan, she groped around her purse before finding her phone. She raised her eyebrow when she noticed the caller ID was of her brother's, but flicked it open nevertheless. "Hey, Deidara! What's going on?" She asked with a sweet cheerfulness and sugary sweet tone. From the other end of the line, she heard a small snort of amusement.

_"Ino, I'm not Deidara." _It was a very familiar girl's voice, one that sounded very… insane. She swore she heard a distant cackle on that end. _"It's me, Sakura, your best friend! I sort of stayed at your house last night and now Deidara and I are bored. The rain last night cut off all the power and we didn't know what to do so I called you! Do you think you can pick us up?" _The top corner of Ino's mouth twitched up in amusement as she listened to Inner Sakura babble on and about something and nearly laughed out at the image of what Deidara's face probably looked like.

Cutting off Inner in the middle of her rant, Ino gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, I can pick you up. I'll be there in a few minutes. Hidan called me earlier and wants me to pick him up. And you might want to explain to Deidara about your Inner. You are probably scaring him right now." She heard Sakura give a sheepish laugh at that and said a small and hurried 'Thanks!' before the dial tone played in her ears a little too loudly for her liking. With a short 'Ow!', she pulled the phone from her ear and threw it into her bag, slamming on the gas pedal when the light turned green, ignoring the loud screech of her tires on the asphalt.

With a sigh, she turned right, heading down the street full of cherry blossom trees and pretty, colorful houses. Ino's face contorted into disgust as she thought of most of the people that lived in the houses, acting as though they owned everything on the street and that the butlers weren't people, just things that bid to their every whim. She had once witnessed a gardener being screamed at because he missed _one leaf_ on a hedge. It really got on her nerves how people acted sometimes. And she recalled how Sakura's life was and yet the girl was always smiling – though it was fake most of the time. She really was a great friend.

Ino came out of her reverie when she saw the black mansion that would hold Sakura's attention captive for so many hours come into view. And right on the porch was the main man himself – but he was asleep. Ino knew a good way to wake him up though, and pressed on the car's horn harshly. She snorted in amusement when Hidan fell off the swing with wide, shocked eyes, looking around for the culprit that woke him up. She placed her head in her palm and waved at him when their eyes met. He gave her seething glare and stomped to the car, and she noticed a sling bag in his hands.

When Hidan finally reached the car – now soaking wet from the massive rain storm and from tripping twice into puddles – he grabbed the car handle and aggressively threw the door open, the force of it causing him to nearly fall into another puddle. Inside the car, Ino was snickering at him and his walking skills. He placed his sling bag in the car seat – which Ino quickly grabbed to rummage through – and hopped in, slamming the door non-genteelly before turning to face her. "What the hell was that for!? Didn't you see that I was sleeping, dammit?! I needs my beauty rest, bitch!"

Ino waved her wrist at him, nonplussed by the rude comment from the foul mouthed teen. "I believe you when you say you need your beauty sleep, trust me. Anyone with eyes could see that." She grinned to herself when she felt the anger coming off Hidan in waves. Riffling through the objects in the clothed bag, Ino blinked when she found a CD case for some band she couldn't read in the dim light. When she pulled it out and read it, she sweatdropped at the name. Turning to Hidan with a raised eyebrow in confusion and amusement, she asked "Why is this band's name _Jashin _when that's your family's name?"

Hidan blinked, his anger disappearing when she held the case to his face. He snorted when he read the name on the disk before grinning. "That's my cousin's band, seriously. He wanted to choose the name and that was it. It was a great choice, right?"

Ino stared at him incredulously for a moment, not even blinking or batting an eye at him, though she felt a twitch near her eyebrow from annoyance starting. "Well, it's…." She paused, trying to think of a good word that would make sense for the situation and _not _offend him. _That leaves 'stupid' and 'what kind of idiot would chose their last name for a band name!?' out, _Inner Ino stated while crossing her arms. The blonde mentally rolled her blue eyes at her ego. "original." Ino finally said, forcing a sweet smile onto her face, feeling the slight twitch in the corner of her lip and hoping Hidan didn't notice it.

The magenta eyed male gave her a wide grin in response, taking the sling bag from her hands and placing the CD case back inside it. "I would ask to play it for you on the radio, but I have a feeling you wouldn't like it that damn much, seriously." His eyes then traveled to hers, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Unless you _want _to listen to it….?" Ino gave him an exasperated look before rolling her eyes at his crooked grin, using her bang to hide the light blush that rose to her cheeks. Backing out of the driveway, Ino headed off to her house, not noticing the goofy grin Hidan had.

**#6#7#8 **_~After Sakura hung up with Ino~_

Sakura hung up before Ino had the chance to reply and turned to face a wide eyed Deidara. She gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head, a sheepish smile on her lips. "I guess I should explain what you just saw, shouldn't I?" Deidara couldn't really form words all that well, his mouth dry from shock, so he just nodded his head. Sakura rubbed her thumbs together, a deep blush forming on her cheeks as she thought of a way to explain about her Inner to Deidara without sounding like a total psychopath or blabbing her secret of her father beating her. Which was going to be hard.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura put her thoughts into order of how she would explain. "Well, after my mom died when I was seven, my dad became a drunkard and never really paid any attention to me and everybody else hated me at school. My mom was my only friend so I never really had anyone to talk to, you know? So I guess I made another person in my head? Something like that. But she looks and sounds like my mom so I was really happy when I first found out. Because that would mean I would have my mother with me even if she wasn't really there." Sakura chokes on a sob before swallowing the wanting to burst into tears so she could continue.

"Sometimes when I'm too shy but I'm really mad, Inner snaps and takes over my mind. Or just when she wants to. You remember that time a week ago in Kurenia's class when I… screamed at Hinata and her gang?" When she got a nod in reply, she bit her lip lightly before continuing. "Yeah, that wasn't _really _me. It was my Inner."

She looked at Deidara when she heard his amused snort. "'Inner'?" he asked, blue-gray dancing with mirth, a smirk tugging his lips in a teasing way. Sakura blushed the color of her hair from her forehead to her chest, shifting her eyes away to look at the ground instead of his laughing eyes. She heard him sigh softly before there was in a dip in the couch cushion she was sitting on and an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, yeah. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was making fun of you. You had a rough childhood so I can't really be surprised that you have an… 'Inner'"

Sakura nodded her head before leaning it on his shoulder. It was still hard to get over the fact that her mother had died and her father took it out on her. Tears sprang to her eyes but she forced herself not to cry in front of Deidara as the memories resurfaced. She barely felt the movement of his palms on her back in a comforting gesture, unconsciously pulling her smaller frame closer to him. He began whispering and cooing nonsense, trying to get her to cry and not hold it in. He sighed in exasperation when she stubbornly chose to not cry.

Inside Sakura's head, a cacophony of pleas and screams of pain was playing nonstop like a broken record. All the times her dad hit or slapped her and blamed her for the death of _his wife, _acting as though she hadn't lost her mother. A symphony of name callings and teasing hit her ears like the notes from a violin string. Then the salvation of her mother's soothing voice, calming her to relaxation she didn't know she could have. She allowed herself to fall into the calming embrace of Deidara, unknowingly letting one tear fall down her pale cheeks, followed by one, then two, and then a river of tears finally broke free.

When he felt the water that started to hit his shirt, he sighed in relief. It was wrong for her to keep all her tears locked up inside. He ran his fingers through her hair, letting his shirt get soaked through. The gray fabric stuck to his left pectoral like a second skin as Sakura cried, her tears coming from her like the rain from the unrelenting storm outside the windows.

He felt his shiver slightly a few minutes later before taking calming breaths in an attempt to stop from crying. He heard her breath hitch a few times while gulping down air, taking too much for her lungs to handle. When she pulled her face from his chest, he felt a pang of hurt and something that resembled anger hit his heart and flow through his veins. The pain stood out like crimson red in her deep green eyes, her face swollen, puffy, and red with dried streaks going down her cheeks.

When another round of tears suddenly hit Sakura and she felt her throat go dry and clench, a sob trying to escape her lips. When a few droplets fell from her eyes, Deidara whipped them away with the pads of his thumbs, giving her a soft smile and making sure his eyes only showed tenderness and caring instead of the anger and hatred he felt towards her father that was building in his chest with every tear she shed. The wanting to just keep her in his arms and never let go hit him like a tidal wave; strong and powerful.

He shifted on the couch so he was closer to her, his arms holding her tightly around her shoulders. He could practically feel the pain in her heart from her sobs alone and just wanted to know what the hell had happened to her as a child and why the hell her father never paid her much attention. And he wanted to know why a lot of people hated her even though she was the nicest person in the entire city. _"Bad things happen to good people. But the fact is that the good people are the ones who have had the worst things done to them. They are nice because they know the pain and they don't want anyone – no matter how cruel to them – to go through the same suffering. They would never wish horrible things on others because they have been through it themselves." _It was his mother's voice that rang in his ears, remembering what she had told him when he asked why Sakura was so nice to everyone, even those who had hurt her.

She was broken. She knew the pain of loneliness and hate. And she never wished it on anyone because she was in the same spot before.

He felt his heart clench and ache for the younger girl in his arms. The pain she had to be going through was worse than anything he could possibly imagine. So into his thoughts as he was, he didn't notice how his grip tightened and he pulled her closer to himself. "Sakura," he whispered into her hair, feeling her nod her head in response. "I'm so sorry." His thumb ran down her jaw line, past her shoulder, down the smooth expanse of her elbow half covered by the bandages, gently down her forearm to her wrist and back up to lock with his other hand by her shoulder blades.

He pulled back slightly to look in her eyes, noticing how they are clouded over in a light evergreen with confusion. She cocked her head to one side, looking up at him bewildered as to why he would say sorry. She opened her mouth before shutting it, repeating the process as she tried to come up with something to say. Deidara stared at her amused while she looked like a fish out of water. It took her a few seconds to find her words and when she did, he seemed slightly shocked. "Why did you say sorry? You haven't done anything wrong." _You have only helped me. _

When he felt her breath on his cheek, he realized the lack of proximity between them and a healthy blush bloomed over his cheeks. He gave her a small grin, nervous grin and a sheepish laugh broke the air around them before his face was set back into seriousness. "I know I shouldn't have to say sorry, but I feel the need to, yeah. From what I have heard from Ino, you've had a really bad childhood and most people at school hate you. I just feel that as one of your… friends, I should show care for you and not push you away."

Sakura noticed the way he paused when he said friend, obviously not knowing if he was considered a friend or best friend. She gave him a soft smile and wrapped her arms around his waist and up his back to rest between his shoulder blades in a thankful hug. "Thank you, Deidara. And you aren't my friend." She felt his shoulders slump and his arms around her loosened a bit. "You're one of my best friends." A small giggle passed her lips when she felt him straighten his back with a smug air surrounding him.

"Well, I'm glad I am, yeah. Because everyone needs to have a best friend and an awesome one doesn't hurt, either." He gave her a cooked grin that caused another burst of giggles to escape her lips. "Well, anyway, you said my sister was coming to get us soon?" When Sakura nodded her head in a confused manor, he continued. "Maybe you should change back into your other clothes before they get here. It would be hard to explain why you are wearing _my _stuff."

Sakura blushed lightly when he smirked at her and got off the couch, holding his hand out for her to take. She gave him a small smile before a light pink blush spread over her cheeks while taking his hand in hers. He pulled her effortlessly from her seat, frowning when he felt how much she weighed – couldn't have been more than 98 pounds soaking wet – and decided to find something more than just cereal to eat while she changed.

"You go on to my room, yeah. I'm gonna see if we have anything to make some sandwiches." When she cocked her head to the side in a confusion, he blurted out the first thing that popped into his head without even giving it much thought. "Well, I bet Ino is hungry, too, ya' know? I am still a bit hungry myself. I can't get that full on just a bowl of cereal." He gave her a crooked grin, hoping and praying she would believe him. He nearly sighed loudly from relief when she nodded her head, walking to the door to head up to his room.

After a minute of searching for the stairs – why did there have to be so many damn doors in the hallway?- Sakura walked to Deidara's room and absently wondered how Ino dealt with living just across from her brother before he opened the door and was immediately washed in a small orange glow from the still burning candles. Letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting, Sakura took a step in and headed over to his dresser, searching the floor for her black jeans.

Finally locating them _inside _the drawer – how had they gotten there?- She quickly put them on, jumping and almost falling on the floor when a sudden crack of thunder hit. A small squeak passed through her parted lips before she took his shirt off and started to place it back in the drawer before freezing slightly '_Or should I place it in the hamper…?' _With a shrug, she folded the shirt and placed it in the drawer. While she was alone, Sakura rolled up her sleeves and nearly hissed at what she saw on the white wrappings around her forearms.

Small red blotches stained a crimson on the white backdrop. She could only guess she had strained them in her restless sleep – she was prone to moving around during her nightmares – and caused them to open slightly and let the clotted blood move out. With a sigh, she rolled the sleeves back down and quickly checked over to see if there were any stains on the sleeve. She couldn't let Deidara or Hidan see them. When she found none, she quickly went back downstairs.

**#6#7#8**

While Sakura went looking for the stairs, Deidara went to the kitchen. Or attempted to the best of his abilities without any light. "Dammit, yeah!" he cursed when his toe hit the side of a random table he swore was thrown there from the middle of nowhere. Lifting that foot up to cradle it, he began hopping on his other before yelping when he stepped on a very sharp object that looked to be the size of a bobby pin. With a groan, he lifted that foot up to hold it, slightly losing his balance and throwing his hands in the air as his back hit a door that swung open and he fell onto the floor.

Inwardly cursing his sister and the way she leaves things strewn about the house without a care in the world and lifted himself up, placing all his weight onto his elbows. Glaring at the offending object laying innocently on the floor, he got off the floor and rubbed the bottoms of his feet slightly. Barely flinching every time his feet made contact to the linoleum floor, Deidara strolled over to the refrigerator. His eyes strained against the darkness as he tried to make out the shape of every item in there. Blinking with a blank face, he grabbed the first things he saw that would be okay to put on a sandwich and walked over to the bread drawer.

Placing everything on the island, he rubbed his hands together for no reason he could think of and opened the package of bread and pulled out two slices, skipping over the first one. Placing them both on the wooden cutting board, he grabbed random things and slathered it on one piece of bread before slapping the other one on top. Looking fairly smug that he made a… something sandwich, he placed it to the side and repeated the process again three times, a large grin plastering its way on his face as he did so. He studied each one, trying to come up with a good name for it, which was hard since he had no idea what was even on them.

Shrugging, he decided to call them the 'Deidara's Surprise Sandwiches!' and got two in each hand. Walking out the living room, he headed down the long hallway – _Mom really needs to cut down on her obsession with doors, yeah. _He thought with his eyebrow twitching at each door he passed – and over to the staircase, about to call out for Sakura when a sudden bright ball of pink came rushing past him. Standing there, he nearly dropped the food in his hands so he could place one over his rapidly beating heart. He turned to the left to see Sakura panting slightly while leaning against a wall.

Sakura gave him a sheepish smile while a tiny blush bloomed across her cheeks. His only response was to raise an eyebrow at her while a tiny smirk pulled the corner of his lip upwards. With the initial shock gone, he felt very amused at her random dash down the steps. "What's wrong, chick? Practicing for the 100-yard dash or something?" Sakura puffed her cheeks out to make it look like she was exasperated when she was really trying to hide her blush.

"No," she whispered, jumping with a small 'Eep!' as another round of loud thunder hit outside. "I just wanted to get down here and be ready for Ino and Hidan when they came to pick us up." She blinked and cocked her head to the side when she noticed the sandwiches in his hand and the ingredients he used to make them. "What's in those, anyway?" She asked pointing to them with her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. It looked as though he made random a grabbing for things and just slapped it onto two pieces of bread and calling it food.

Deidara's eyes followed her line of direction and he shrugged, not really knowing _exactly _what was in it. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I figured you were hungry, too, and made you one. I call it the 'Deidara's Surprise Sandwich', yeah! Try it!" He shoved one of the two surprise sandwiches in her hand with a wide grin, his eyes bright with an emotion Sakura couldn't describe. Hesitantly, _very _hesitantly, Sakura brought it to her lips and took a small bite, not yet sure if she was going to get food poisoning or not. As she slowly chewed, Deidara seemed to bounce on the balls of his feet.

A sudden rush of flavor that she couldn't begin to describe hit her taste buds when she swallowed and a grin etched its way onto her lips before she devoured the rest of the first one. As she was about to start on the next one, Deidara's hand was in between her lips and the pieces of bread. She looked up at him in confusion when she saw the curious amusement dancing in his eyes. "What does it taste like, yeah? Can you tell what I put in there or is it just a onetime thing?"

Thinking over the flavor, she furrowed eyebrows together and realized she _couldn't _think of the flavor, as many different ones had just jumbled up. "I would say it is a onetime thing. I can't really think of a single flavor there was before another one comes to mind immediately afterwards. I'm sorry." She gave him an apologetic look to which he sighed in response.

"No, it's fine , yeah. It's not really your fault. Let's just go wait for Ino by the door. Inside, I mean. We wouldn't want to go outside right now, yeah." He stated, looking a bit sulky as they walked towards the front door. Sakura gobbled down the other sandwich she had left and made a satisfied sound in the back of her throat when her stomach seemed to only cause small growls. Whatever was in there must have been something healthy at least. "Was it that good?" Deidara asked, his lips twitching upward into a smirk.

Sakura gave a small giggle and nodded her head in a positive way. He gave her a soft smile and was about to say something else when a car's horn blared off from outside and bright headlights blinded them both for a second. Deidara opened the wooden to where it was ajar – he didn't want the glass door to keep banging open and letting in small amounts of rain – and saw that it was Ino and Hidan in the car, both of who looked red while glaring at the other. "I wonder who started the fight and what they are fighting about."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and recalled a memory of her and Hidan talking while walking to her next class before their break started. A fain shadow of a smirk crossed her lips as she looked at the two. "Oh well. We'll find out in the car won't we? When those two fight they usually go all out. Now come on. The rain is coming down pretty hard and I don't feel like getting soaked." She walked out on the porch with him behind her and remembered the Surprise Sandwiches. "And you might want to do something about those so they don't get soggy."

Deidara nodded and placed them up his, ignoring the look Sakura gave him. "Well then, let's go, yeah. We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?" She nodded her head and the two ran down the porch steps and to the backseats of the car, managing to not fall once – which caused Ino to snicker at a annoyed Hidan. The younger blonde turned around to face her brother and best friend with a smile.

"Hey guys! What's…. up?" She gave a small pause as Deidara pulled out the two sandwiches and looked over to Sakura for an explanation. She received one when Deidara shoved them both towards Hidan and her and both hesitantly took one. "Uhh… What is in this, exactly?"

"Well, Deidara calls them the 'Deidara's Surprise Sandwiches!' so it's obviously a surprise." Sakura giggled nervously while scratching her temple. A blush crept its way to her face as she inwardly hoped the two wouldn't ask them what had happened last night and was very thankful that the food held their attention the most. Inner Sakura was practically chanting a thanks to every god she knew and more.

Hidan's weird grimace quickly turned into a grin wider than the Cheshire Cat's and he turned around to face them in a slow and creepy movement. Sakura felt her blood run cold at it and almost saw the question just pop into his eyes before he even had a chance to open his mouth. "So…" He drawled, getting everyone's attention, "What did you two do last night? We shouldn't be expecting any little bundles of joy, should we?" Deidara and Sakura stared at him horror as they both blushed to the point it looked like they would pass out right there.

"What… you…. I… we…" Deidara sputtered, trying to come up with something to say and failing miserably while Hidan was cackling and Ino face palmed. Next to him, Sakura was in the same state of mind. Finally, a few words formed a sentence in his head and he blurted them out. "What the hell made you think we did _that _in my room!? You are such a disgusting pervert!" He bonked his fist on top of Hidan's head in a way to make him shut up.

Ino rolled her eyes at them before turning to Sakura. "Hey, Sakura, since you seem to be the only one who is able to talk without thinking or saying something that makes me want to hit you, where are we going?" She asked with a sweet smile.

Sakura thought over it for a second before looking at Ino with a saddened face. "Just take me I guess. It's almost one and I want to be back before my dad gets home, you know?"

Ino nodded sympathetically and smacked the backside of Hidan's head, causing a small yelp of pain to tear through his lips. She put the gear shift into reverse and turned her head around slightly to look out the back window so she wouldn't run into anything. Which was hard since the rain was coming down in gray sheets.

The wet roads were making it hard to drive and Ino was thankful that this was the only car on the road at that point. Everyone freaked out a bit when the back wheels of the car swerved when they went around a corner. After that, everyone was holding onto something for dear life – Ino was holding the steering while tightly, Hidan was practically cuddling the passenger's seat, Sakura was holding onto Deidara, and Deidara was holding onto the back of the driver's seat. Ino's hands were shaking ever so slightly with the pressure from holding so tightly and she couldn't get them to stop even when they pulled in front up in front of Sakura's house.

"Okay, Sakura, we are here now. Be careful, oaky? And don't trip over anything!" _Please let her dad still be stuck at work, please! _Ino begged every god up there that Sakura would be alone until the storm wore off.

Sakura gave her a quick smile before hopping out of the car and walking slowly up the drive way, making sure to dodge any puddles that could cause her to trip. With the garage door closed, she could only bite her lip in anticipation of whether or not her dad was home. She heard the sound of Ino's car's tires on the road when she finally made it to the door and took a deep breath before grasping the handle and opening it.

What she hadn't expected was for a fist to hit her cheek upon entering the doorway. The sudden force caused her to fall down and hit her head harshly on the wooden floor. Her vision tunneled black for a second before she blinked it away. Enraged bloodshot blue eyes met hers for a quick second before another searing pain hit her side and sent shockwaves up her spine. "Where were you!?" He father slurred, his fingers curling into a fist. "I wash looking er'where for you, bish!" He stomped on her arm, and a whimper came from her. A few more punches and kicks hit her before she heard her father's footsteps moving away.

Thinking it was over, Sakura got herself off the floor and whipped a small stream of blood from her bottom lip before looking up and seeing a small black hole. Her eyes widened in realization and she moved into the corner away from gun her father was holding. "If you ever do something like this again, I will put this," he motioned to the gun, "on your temple and I will not hesitate to pull the trigger! Now scram!" Sakura didn't need to be told twice. She scrambled to her feet and dashed up the steps, nearly tripping every now and then.

When she reached her room, Sakura closed the door and let her back hit it, falling on her butt to the ground. Tears from fear and shock escaped her eyes and she quietly sobbed into her arms, wishing she could just live a different life than this one.

**#6#7#8**

**There is chapter 6! I had writer's block but I pushed my brain just for you guys! Be thankful -_-. Okay guys, I totally hate to do this (because I feel like a bitch when I do write this), but I really want you guys to review- please- so, unless I get at least 5 reviews per chapter, I won't upload the next one (still feel like a bitch…) Moving on. So here are some questions for you guys to answer in the reviews to make it easy: Do you guys think I should go back and name the chapters? And if yes, can you help me with some names for them? And can you guys give me some ideas to use as flashbacks for later chapters? It doesn't matter what they are about. And speaking of which, there will be a total of sixteen chapters, including the epilogue. The drama will start in chapter 8, by the way, and that will be a three-parter one (I'm going to have three chapters to finish Chapter 8). I already have the entire thing planned out XD You guys will love the ending :3 And now, please vote for the next story you guys want after this one. And also, I have a small chapter for 'Friends Forever' if you guys want to see how it will play out. Tell me what you think of it! And if you like it, vote for it or else I won't finish it. I will only do whichever one has the most votes! And the next chapter may be long-ish because I will have a story in the first part of it and it's just kind of focused on them… celebrating their vacation? I can't give it away but there will be something fun they do! You guys probably won't be able to guess, but if you want, it has to do with outside. (There are two things that they do but it falls into the same day) Oh! And if you guys see any summary you like but want a different couple and want to write it **_**yourself –**_** as in, if you want to do it and switch some things up – you can ask me. I don't mind. BUT! There are TWO that I will probably deny: 'One Month' and 'The Fallen Angel'. Oh! I got another idea! But which do you guys like better: SasoxIno or GaaxIno? Thanks! And to the guest who called me awesome- You made my day! I love you!~~~ **

**-Don't forget to review and vote! **


	7. Camping and Failed Attempt

My Best Friend's Brother

_The stars were twinkling in the night sky, the pale moonlight washing everything under it in a silvery glow mixed with the orange glow of a fire around the a clearing in the forest. The same clearing had the sounds of the cackling wood from inside the small pit, chirping crickets, and small girlish giggles as Ino and Sakura watched Hidan and Deidara attempt to make smores from the fire in front of them. Inoichi and Rednai were both placing the tent up on the other side of the clearing, sending amused looks towards the kids every now and then. _

_ "Hey." Rednai whispered to Inoichi, making sure to keep her voice quiet so the kids didn't hear her, "Why don't you tell them one of your scary stories, hun? I bet we could scare them with one." Inoichi looked over to his wife and met her mischievous brown eyes and gave an equally mischievous smirk before walking over to the small fire pit that kids were surrounding._

_ Clapping his hands once, he got the attention of the four and tried his hardest not to let out the smirk threatening to take over his face. "Okay guys, gather around the fire. I'm going to tell you all a story. A _horror _story." He nearly chuckled at the excited faces of Hidan and Deidara and the slightly weary ones from Ino and Sakura. But that sat down nonetheless. Hidan and Deidara were flanking each side of the girls, Hidan next to Ino and Deidara next to Sakura. Inoichi gave Hidan a small glare for sitting next to his little girl and one to Deidara as a warning. _

_ "Are you guys ready? Have everything?" When all four nodded, he took a seat on a small log across from them, taking a deep breath and looking around the small clearing as if watching out for something. By the tent, Rednai was smirking like a maniac when an idea came to mind. Silently, she crept to the tree that was closest to the kids but far away to where they wouldn't notice her. _

_ "This is the story about the house on that hill." He pointed to the top of a large mountain-like structure with what looked to be a large pile of wood. _

_ Sakura, who had squeaked at the sight and moved closer to Deidara, hesitantly opened her mouth. "Is… Is this based on a true story?" _

_ Inoichi stared at her for a while - so long, in fact, that the other three turned to look up at him with horror filled eyes – before he slowly opened his mouth. "Yes, it is. Now listen carefully. It all began on a night much like this one…"_

!

The dark house in front of them was covered in vines, the dark night washing away any courage they had left in them. The flashlight was flickering on and off, washing them in spouts of dark and light. The woman's hand was shaking uncontrollably, her other hand clutching the black jacket of her male companion. The storm behind them was releasing a mercilessly tirade of water, lightning and thunder. Above them, the clouds moved over the full moon, giving a sense of foreboding. In the distance, they heard what sounded like a coyote howling.

"Riku, is this a good idea?" The woman asked nervously, furiously shaking the red object in her hand to get the batteries to work better. For a second, bright light covered a 2-inch radius before flickering off again. Next to her, Riku snorted.

"Don't be such a scaredy cat, Luna. It's just a house and that was just a coyote, not a freakin' werewolf coming out to eat us. Gosh, women are such pansies." Luna glared at him and punched him in his lower back, causing a hiss of pain to escape his lips.

Luna crossed her arms and stomped up to the house, already forgetting how scared se was earlier. "Dammit woman." Riku cursed under his breath, jogging to catch up with her at the door. They both paused, looking at the brass knocker (A/N: Lol XD Knocker. Hehehe…) before Luna slowly lifted her arm up and used it to hit the old wooden door. They both blinked when the door feel off its hinges from the force of her hitting it.

Luna took a step over it, Riku right behind her. They both paused and took in the room, feeling shivers run up and down their spines.

The placed looked to be covered in cobwebs and dust, all the furniture upturned as though there had been some sort of struggle in here. Scratches and red stains decorated the walls. In front of them was a large mirror that took up the entire wall and they were washed in light when a sudden bolt of lightning lit up the sky, a rumble of thunder warning them of an oncoming torrent. A sudden wind brushed through the room, causing goose bumps to rise across their skin.

Luna swiveled her head when something that sounded like pans clanging to the floor hit her ears and noticed that Riku didn't seem to notice it. He was staring at the mantle under next to the mirror above a fireplace. "Riku…? What's wrong?" Luna asked with a bit of hysteria in her voice. This house was scaring her.

Riku didn't answer, didn't even look her as he raised his hand and pointed to something glinted off a beautiful color of gold and ruby. Luna narrowed her eyes at it and gasped when another bolt of the electricity hit and reflected the object against the dark wood.

A golden hand.

It looked as though someone had cut from the middle of a forearm curled the fingers inwardly just a bit to make it look like it grasping a door knob. Emerald and ruby colored rings adorned all the fingers in a creepy way.

"Riku, you can't honestly think about stealing it, can you?!" Luna hissed under her breath, afraid the hand would hear and jump off the mantle to attack. She nibbled her bottom lip lightly when she saw that he wasn't going to answer. A wave of worry washed over her and looked into his eyes to make sure he was okay. Her breath caught in her throat but she suddenly felt the need to gasp for air.

The pupils had constricted so much, only the color remained. There was also a maniac spark going through it and Luna felt the sudden need to run, to get out before something bad happened. The air around her seemed to have dropped another ten degrees and the light paddling of rain hitting the roof made her knees quiver in fright. Her eyes darted over to the mirror and she felt a scream rise to her throat at the same time a cotton like material pushed down on her vocal cords.

There was no rain outside.

Her breathing became uneven as her heart began to beat faster in her chest and she started to shake Riku harshly, hoping to wake him up from whatever trance like state he was in. No such luck. Riku roughly pushed her to the ground and walked soundlessly to the wooden mantle, the excitement bubbling in his eyes too hard to not notice. Luna's eyes widened when she saw him make a grab for the golden hand.

The pounding started to get harder on the ceiling as he got closer, as if any spirit in the house was punching the floor in the same speeds their non-existent hearts were beating. Her throat was very dry and seemed to spasm with every step he took. She placed her fingernails into the worn out wood of the cabin floor, making a set of indents in the softened material. Every muscle in her body was screaming for her to run yet were too shaken up to move.

Riku traced the outline of the hand in way that suggested he was very interested in what he saw, a wicked grin quickly spreading from ear to ear. He turned his head slowly so he could see her, eyes going from his usual hazel nut brown to bright blood red to asphalt gray and finally to deep, pupiless sapphire. Luna stayed where she was, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She could feel the horrid taste of fear and bile run up into her throat, the scream still burning to escape as he started to close in on her.

In a sudden rush of movement that she couldn't see with her eyes, Riku placed the golden hand onto his right one and watched as it started to fit him like a glove. Her breathe came out in short gasps now, her lungs practically begging to be filled with the precious air that wouldn't stay as Riku kept walking towards her, his head cocked to the side with that same maniacal look plastered onto his face. A sudden bolt of lightning outside reflected on his canines.

And then he was right in front of her, bright blue gems staring into dim brown ones. The screaming was strangling her now, wanting to escape and run away, to never look back. But it stayed in her throat, the cotton like material pushing down harder. She watched with wide eyes as he brought down one hand – the left one – onto her neck and applied pressure until her vision was tunneling and she blacked out. Her body slumped into his arms and he hauled her over his shoulder and walked into the kitchen.

**#6#7#8 **_(Important A/N at end!)_

Luna woke up about an hour later feeling slightly groggy as her head lulled to one side, her eyes lazily taking in the room before they widened and a sudden rush of fear and dread overwhelmed her and spread through her veins like a venom. She tried to scream only to find something blocking her windpipe.

She looked around the room only finding knives on a small tool bench and red splatters all over the walls, floors, and ceilings. More dread coursed through her veins as realization sunk in at what was going to happen to her. She tried to move herself off the metal bed but pressure pulled her wrist back down along with both her legs.

She looked down to see two leather bounds tied to around her and strapped through two holes at the end of the bed, her legs jutted out in a 'V' shape. She strained her neck upwards to see the same happened to her arms. Adrenaline rushed through her, her heart racing as she began to struggle against the leather.

"You can stop now, Luna, your attempts of escape will be futile. There is no way for you to escape." A dark voice chuckled from behind her in a mocking way. Her blood ran cold and she turned to see Riku starring at her with the same bright blue eyes as earlier with an insane, bloodlust look. Tears started to spill from her eyes as he slowly stalked towards her.

"Don't cry, Luna," He cooed, his face twisting into a maniacal grin, "the fun hasn't started yet."

Luna began to try and twist her body away from him, the bounds loosening only slightly as she kicked around with heavy force. Riku's grin turned into a scowl when he noticed this and started to growl threats at her to be quite while grabbing a knife from the tray.

Luna's breathing began to quicken when he started to advance towards her, twirling the knife around his finger. "Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson." And then the grin was back on his face. The temperature of the room dropped drastically and small scurrying footsteps sounded above her head with child like giggles. The already dim light in the room darkened over Riku's head until there appeared to be a ghostly shadow looming over him, watching him.

That was the last thing she remembered seeing before she felt the sharp piercing of a dagger entering her skin.

!

_ The four kids were huddled up together, their eyes wide and their small bodies shaking slightly. Inoichi was holding a dead serious face on the outside but was trying to control his laughter on the inside. He could his wife peering from behind the tree across from him and took notice how the kids hadn't. When they turned their attention to the broken beams of wood upon the hill top, blue-green and hazel eyes met with amusement dancing around as Inoichi signaled Rednai over. _

_ With the grace and stealth of a cat – something neither knew she had seeing as how she was always tripping over things, even air – she snuck up behind the children, opening her mouth wide to show fangs and lifted her hands in the air, curving her fingers inwardly to her palm. Quietly sucking in a breath, she let out a loud scream that sounded like a screeching owl (_**Gosh, I hate those things -_-) **_causing the four to let out simultaneous screams and grab onto the closest person while attempting to not wet their pants. _

_ When they finally caught their breath and mustered up enough courage, they turned to see a red faced Rednai trying to keep her giggles in with a hand placed at her mouth. Across from them, Inoichi had already broke into hysterics. It only took a second for Deidara to realize that he was holding onto Sakura and for a large blush to bloom over his cheeks in five seconds flat. Sakura's small hands tightened around the cloth of his shirt before loosening,, though not letting her hands fall away to her side. Next to them, Hidan and Ino were starring at each other in horror before quickly letting go of each other, a bright pink blushing barely gracing their cheekbones._

_ Ino, not very happy that she was so scared, immediately jumped up from her sitting position and began to yell at her parents, saying they had no right to pull such tricks on her and her friends and the mutt boy – she pointed at Hidan who glared at her in return – which caused her parents to crack up even more. Sakura and Deidara were lightly snickering, attempting to keep quiet so the others wouldn't see the two still holding onto each other. _

**BangBangBang.**

Sakura awoke with a small groan to the loud banging of someone at the door. She tried to pick herself off the bed but roughly collapsed back onto it when the pain of yesterday's beatings came back and hit her bruises with jarring force. A grimace marred her face as she curled into the fetal position, her right leg feeling like pins and needles were poking out from every direction for being slept on a weird position for so long. Tears spilled from eyelids as she recalled all the memories of last night; the punch, hitting the ground, the kicks, more punches, and the gun. She gave an involuntary shiver at that.

A few more bangs and someone pressing the doorbell caused her to gently get out of the bed, being very mindful of her possible concussion and the rest of her bruises in her body. She padded down the stairs softly, wondering if her father was home and if he would be mad by the ruckus made by the person at the door. She gulped a little at the thought. Pain zinged up and down her spine with every step, only just bearable as the person pounded harder on the door and pressed the bell more.

Sakura opened the door just as the person was about to knock again and caught sight of two pale blue eyes looking at her before the girl broke out into a smile. "I thought you were trying to ignore me, forehead. I've been here the past five minutes knocking and ringing the doorbell. And don't worry. I checked for your dad's car before I started ransacking your door."

Sakura rolled her eyes, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, trying and failing to stifle a yawn, stretching her hands over her head and grinning as her joints popped. "What did you come over for, Ino? I know it wasn't to break my door." Sakura looked over her friend's shoulder to see Hidan and Deidara sitting in Hidan's old black _Dodge _pickup truck arguing over what to looked to be a piece of paper and trying claw each other's eyes out. Ino followed her gaze and rolled her eyes while flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"I wanted to ask if you would like to come with us to the old campsite dad used to take us to when we were younger. I mean our one week winter break is almost over and we'll have to back to school!" Ino pleaded, her bottom lip sticking out while her eyes watered over.

Sakura sweatdropped at her friend and let her inside, closing the door behind her. "Ino, it's only Tuesday. We don't go back until next Monday." She smiled at her friend when she crossed her arms and gave her a small glare. "I might be able to. I'm not sure though." The two walked into the kitchen and Ino noticed a note.

"Ohhh~~! What's this?" Ino skipped over to the kitchen and picked up the small piece of paper and read it over, raising her eyebrow at Sakura, who was eating an orange and savoring every drop. Sakura noticed Ino's look and hummed questionably. "'_Sakura, left for business out of town. Be back in two to three days time. Don't do anything stupid while I'm out. And remember: the threat from last night still stands.'" _Ino's lips fell into a stern line and her blue eyes shined with unhidden rage. "Sakura, what did your father do?" There was a slight tremor in her words, attempting to not break anything valuable near her. 

Sakura fidgeted under the sharp glare, shifting weight from one leg to the other while biting on her bottom lips harshly, eyes looking for anything something to land on that wasn't Ino's. She coughed lightly before swallowing and giving a small, nervous laugh and sheepish expression. The glare only increased. With a small sigh, Sakura reluctantly told the tale of her night after being dropped off, biting the inside of her cheek and digging her nails into the skin of her palm to keep the tears from spilling. She could still see the gun pointed at her as she recalled the memory to her best friend.

With every word, Ino's rage came more and more to the surface, eyes glaring an icy purple at the wall across from her. She clenched her jaw, teeth grinding against each other as she fought the inner war with herself to _not _destroy the house; Lord only knows what her father would do with his house barely hanging on by a thread. She felt the blood boil under her skin literately feeling the way in moved throughout her veins. Her fists were visibly shaking, her nails creating red crescents in her ski, the soft layer almost breaking to give her blood a way out and fall down her past her wrist.

"He has no right, _no right, _to do that to you." Her voice was just above a whisper but held a lot of venom. In her mind, she was sending every curse and more that she knew to Kizashi. Taking a few deep breaths to keep her anger – and blood pressure – from skyrocketing, Ino looked up at Sakura with sympathetic eyes. "Sakura, you need to do something about your father. This isn't right." Ino placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder and squeezed gently, pleading with her eyes.

Sakura looked up at her before turning away, shaking her head. "You know I can't, Ino. He is the only person who can take care of me. And if I _do _tell someone, they would put me into one of those foster homes and I would be taken away from you guys." She whispered sadly, removing Ino's hand from her shoulder. "Anyway, you came over to ask me if I wanted to go camping with you three…?" She trailed off, looking over to Ino with raised eyebrows. The blonde's face lit up considerately.

"Yes, I did. And I won't take no for an answer. Mainly because your reason to say no isn't here so you have no other excuse!" Ino struck a pose, her fist punched the air while one of her legs kicked upwards. "Yosh! Let's go get your stuff together!" All that was left while a small breeze that blew Sakura's hair back and out of her face with a tiny dust trail. Sakura blinked, confusion dancing across her face before she stood up and calmly made her way to the stairs, up the steps, and into her bedroom….

Only to be hit in the face by a flying T-shirt. She peeled the material from her face and saw it was one of her old shirts, holes around the bottom and armpit with thread pieces missing or hanging off. It looked as though it could fit a twelve year old. On the other side of her room, Ino had a duffle bag – where that came from, Sakura didn't know nor did she want to – and was throwing random clothes in it before bustling into the bathroom. "Um, Ino, what are you doing?" Sakura asked hesitantly, jumping out of her skin when Ino _skipped _out of the bathroom and to her closet.

"As I already said, forehead. You are going camping with us and you can't say no since your father is gone. Now shush. I'm trying to look for a good pair of shoes for you…" Ino trailed off, rummaging through Sakura's closet for any kind of shoe. Sakura sat down on her bed and watched Ino go through everything before popping out holding a pair of ruined black _Converse _with the strings covered in dirt and small holes around the edges. "Here! Try these on!"

Sakura huffed lightly, untangling the strings as best as she could before jamming her foot in there. "It fits." She stated blandly before throwing it at Ino, who caught it and placed it in the duffle bag.

"Okay! Let's go!" Ino declared, grabbing Sakura's – who was still in her clothes from yesterday – hand and the bag before running down the steps, almost tripping in her haste. Sakura was barely able to grab her ruined black _Converse _from the duffle bag as they passed the door.

When the two got closer to the truck, Sakura's eyes widened. Sitting in the back of the truck were two ATVs, or four-wheelers. Both were a deep forest green and the same size. They were strapped to the sides of the truck and each other with a few cords. As they got closer, she could make out the details of small indentions and mud plastered around the bars in the front and back. The headlights looked as if they hadn't been washed in while and dust had collected over the years. A smile curved up on Sakura's lips when she saw this.

"We bringing out the Honda Horses (A/N: My friend and I both have four-wheelers that were Hondas and we came up this X3 And the Honda Hamsters, too :3) again?" Ino turned to give Sakura a smirk over her shoulder as her eyes danced with joy. Inner Sakura was dancing with joy inside her head, shouting that this was so worth waking up early for. And Sakura agreed whole-heartedly.

When Ino was standing next to the driver's side of the truck, she hit the glass window while Hidan and Deidara were fighting over the map. "Oi, idiots! Open the doors, would ya!?" The boys turned to glare at her before Hidan unlocked the truck and allowed them inside. Ino scowled as she and Sakura did their seat belts, placing the black bag on top of all the other camp equipment next to her. "Why are you two fighting? And how could you not say hello to Sakura?" To Ino's exasperation, they only response she got were two grunts. "Morons." She mumbled under her breath, causing Sakura to giggle lightly.

"No, you dumb blonde!" Hidan shouted from the driver's seat, effectively bringing Sakura and Ino out of their small reverie. They both looked up to see a red faced Hidan and purple-eyed Deidara glaring at each. "The path is clearly right here! Are you too blind to notice or something!?"

"No! I can see it, bastard! This is _my _family's usual camping site, remember!? Or is you brain just too small to realize that?" Deidara snapped at the magenta eyed teen.

"Uhh.." Ino started, looking between the two teens in the front seat uneasily with wide eyes. "Are you two… okay…?"

They both snapped their heads in Ino and Sakura's direction, eyes flaring with anger. Sakura shrunk more into her seat, scared and nervous from the looks the guys were giving them. "No!" they shouted simultaneously while pointing their index fingers at the other. "This idiot can't find the damned directions!" Their eyes snapped back to each other's, lightning shooting through due to the friction of the glares. Ino sweatdropped and rolled her eyes then crossed her arms.

"Look, you are both idiots." Hidan and Deidara sent a mild glare to the other blonde. "Just shut up and give me the map. I didn't bring Sakura here to listen to you both bicker. I bet she is just as annoyed in you both as I am." Hidan begrudgingly handed the paper which she snatched from his hands. "I swear, men are too prideful these days. How these two will get married is beyond me." She flicked her ponytail out of her face, a satisfied smirk plastered on her face as she skimmed over the details on the map.

Next to her, Sakura was giggling lightly, her hand covering the smile that tugged her lips as she nodded in agreement. Deidara caught the nod and slumped down in his seat, his face holding a sad expression. Hidan gave him a sympathetic pat on the back, his face holding a sorrowful look. Behind them, Ino started to snicker lightly. "Deidara, you idiot, you _both _forget the path. It was this one." Ino leaned over slightly and pointed to the path with a green triangle one it and hit them both over the head. "I honestly wonder how you can be my brother sometimes."

Deidara glared and rubbed his head, looking at Sakura from the corner of his eye. A small blush dusted over his cheeks when her – impossibly – green eyes met with his blue ones and she gave a small smile. He grinned – though it was slightly strained from embarrassment at being caught – and raised his hand in a wave like gesture. His brow furrowed a bit when he looked her over. _Why is she still wearing the same outfit from yesterday, yeah?_ There was a sudden jerk to the truck as Hidan took off down the road, one hand one the wheel while the other was hanging out the open window.

"Hope you guys don't mind," He began, a small chuckle escaping his lips, "but we are going the back way. I don't want to go through traffic." Ino grumbled something under her breath, but nobody paid her much attention as they all looked out the window – aside from the grumbling blonde who was sitting in between Sakura and the equipment – with their hair billowing out lightly over their shoulders. The wind barely hit their cheeks, the speed of the truck causing it to pick up lightly as it accelerated. Deidara scowled when his hair started to bunch up in his mouth and took his usual ponytail down and switched it with a low one.

Sakura had a calm face on as she closed her eyes and breathed in the scents of the woods – oak, maple, pine, every tree there was! – but inside her head, Inner Sakura was all but screaming out of excitement. They were going to be driving four-wheelers! She hadn't done it in so long but she still remembered how to. It was sort of hard to forget how to drive one. It had been drilled into their heads; turn on, switch the gas on, give it a clutch, rev it up a bit, switch into first, drive, second, drive, third, shoot off and watch out for trees.

The adrenaline rush she got was amazing. Her heart beat was faster, fast enough to catch up with the engine if it wanted. She could just watch the scenery as she drove on one, listening to the tires on the ground and flinging mud at nearby… anything. When her and Ino had been younger – 12, maybe? – they had tried to aim the mud at Hidan and Deidara, who in return would do the same. At the memory of Hidan glaring at the two with a mud caked face – and not to forget the _worm _wiggling around in it – as they drove away caused some small giggles to erupt in her throat.

The other three in the car just listened to her amusedly, knowing that this is what she does a lot of the time; just bursting into random bouts of giggles when she is thinking about the past. Ino looked over at her best friend and they shared a smile before looking out the window – or Ino's position, looking out the front windshield. "Hey, old man, we almost there yet?" Inner Ino was laughing at the low growl Hidan gave when he heard the nickname.

"I don't know, princess. What does the map say? I mean, if you can actually read it without the colored shapes showing the paths." Hidan laughed with crazed, border lining maniacal, undertone at Ino's growl.

"Hey, Hidan! Don't insult my sister like that!" Deidara started, a stern look on his face – one that almost faltered at seeing Ino's hopeful and awed filled eyes. "That's an insult to blondes everywhere and if you hadn't noticed, I'm a blonde, too!" The boys both started into gut-bursting laughter and ignored Ino's indignant 'Hey!' and smack to the older blonde's shoulder. Even Sakura was giggling lightly, her smile enough to make Ino to not hit _her_ – the other two were gonna get it when they stopped, though.

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and huffed lightly before a pout pressed her lips together. "You guys are so mean! At least _I _know how to read a map! You two were fighting for, like, ten minutes over directions!" She gave them both a hard glare before looking out the window on Sakura's side and almost screeching out _"Stop!"_ Hidan slammed on his breaks while Deidara and Sakura placed their hands on their rapidly beating hearts and everyone turned to her. Ino was digging through the pile of stuff next to her and grabbed her and Sakura's bag. "We are at the path. See, right there. We just go down it and we are in the clearing."

Ino hopped over Sakura's lap and opened the door to hop out, humming as she skipped over to the path. She turned slightly to look at them and raised her eyebrow. "You guys coming or what?" When the three were able to pick up their jaws, Sakura immediately hopped out and ran towards Ino. Hidan and Deidara, on the other hand, went in the back to get the other equipment and their own bags before pulling down the back of the truck and climbing into the bed of it and unhooking all the cords around the ATVs.

"Hey, blondie and pinky, you wanna help us get these to the camp?" Hidan called as the trailed off. He and Deidara smirked when Sakura paused in her footsteps and handed Ino her duffel bag back before jogging to them. Deidara smirked at and held his hand out.

"Good to know someone still likes to have fun, yeah." Sakura grinned at him and sat down on the right one with him next to her. Hidan climbed out the back and placed a thick piece of wood on the road and slanted in upward to sit in the edge of the truck's bed so they could back out of it easier. "Ready? You can go first." Sakura nodded before turning the key and pressing the power button, smiling when the engine roared to life. She unlocked the parking breaking and revved the engine a bit before shifting it to reverse – which was too much work in her opinion (A/N: And mine -_- Too much work) – and looked over her shoulder to make sure she didn't fall off the board.

When all four tires hit the gravel and she was a little ways away from the truck, Sakura shifted up into first then added a bit of pressure to the throttle and listened to the engine, repeating the process until in third gear. A large smile appeared on her lips when her thumb pressed it harshly and the tires screeched as she shot off, the wind in her hair and tangling the pieces together. She heard Ino' light laughter as Hidan yelled something she paid no mind to, letting herself be caught up in the warm wind hitting her face, the plastic material hitting her legs through the material of her jeans.

All around her, the trees swiveled into blurs of green and brown. The path was narrow, barely enough space for the vehicle to move through. Adrenaline pumped through her veins in what felt like gallons as she sped up, moving gracefully through the trees that randomly popped into her way, trying to get her to stop or wreck but nothing seemed to stop her. She gave a loud boast of laughter as a butterfly flitted into vision and ducking under a low hanging branch. She heard the loud roar of another engine behind her and slowed down a bit to look over her shoulder.

Deidara was behind her by a few feet but quickly catching up. A broad smirk was curling his lips upward into a grin that told her he was amazed at her skills. She returned it with a grin of her own before turning back to the road ahead of them and speeding up, the tires kicking up mud and sending it flinging to his face, causing her two back tires to do a fish tail. (A/N: A fish tail is when the back tires twist to around close to the front but stop half way and come back to their original spot. It's really fun to do.)

**#6#7#8**

Deidara and Sakura parked the ATVs next to each other in the clearing, both grinning like maniacs with their shirts, pants and shoes covered mud. Small clumps of dirt were hanging off the ends of their hair. Ino and Hidan were stomping out from the trail, both steaming mad. In their hands were all the bags and tents. But their face and hair was caked in mud from walking behind them. "EXCUSE US! BUT NEXT TIME, COULD YOU _PLEASE _REFRAIN FROM FLINGING SO MUCH MUD ON US!?" Ino screeched. Hidan's jaw was clenched, holding in the stream of curses that threatened to poor from his lips.

Deidara just snorted in amusement before getting off the ATV and jogging to Hidan to take one tent and his bag from the pissed man's hand. Sakura on the other hand looked a little sheepish and smiles apologetically while walking over to her best friend. Ino practically shoved the duffel bag in her friend's hand, putting in enough force to make Sakura wince slightly. Ino paid no heed to it as she stomped over to the middle of the clearing and setting her bag in the middle when Hidan came to stand next to her and followed suit.

"You two," Hidan began, his voice strained from trying to keep the curses from pouring out, "are going to stay here and set up the tents while me and Ino are going to look for a river. If you guys are lucky, we may bring you guys back some water. But I highly doubt we will." With that, the two stomped off blindly in another direction. Deidara and Sakura looked at each other and shrugged before setting out to pitch up the tents.

**#6#7#8 **~Few Hours Later~

Deidara and Sakura were sitting on a log, both holding up a stick with a marshmallow on the end over a fire. Both were sitting next to each other closely with a blanket hanging around their shoulders in an attempt to keep warm. Hidan and Ino had been gone for a while and they could only assume the two had gotten lost in the woods while searching for a river.

"You know," Sakura began, watching her breath turn into a pale white color before scooting closer to Deidara for more warmth, "we should probably go looking for them. But it's so cold I don't want to get up…"

Deidara snorted lightly while pulling the stick closer to examine the marshmallow and deeming it good enough since it was a crisping golden-brown color. "They will be here soon. Knowing them, they are trying to find a way to carry the water here, yeah." He stretched his back a little, throwing his arms over his head to pop the joints in his back. "And when they do get back, they are going to be so cold, they will just want to get into the tents. If they ever find us again that is….." He gave a soft sigh before looking towards her. When he did, he felt his breath catch in his throat.

The fire shone on her hair, making it look brighter than it really was and closer to a warm sunset than coral pink. Her usually pale skin looked like a nice apricot color and her emerald eyes were shinning bright with an Inner fire he never saw before. She looked beautiful right there, so utterly beautiful that he wished he had his clay or paint or pencils or _something _to create how she looked.

And then her lips looked oh-so tempting, too. Bright pink and full, just barely parted as she breathed in and out. Deidara felt himself unconsciously leaning in closer to her to just give her a small kiss. His lips barely parted and he noticed – with joy, might he add – that Sakura hadn't even seen him doing it.

But right when he felt he she grab her attention, two soaking wet bodies plowed through the forest with their teeth chattering and hands rubbing up and down their arms. Deidara jumped back with a small yelp while Sakura looked up at them in slight shock, her eyes wide when she saw them.

"Ino! Hidan! Why are you two just standing there!? Aren't you freezing?" Sakura gasped, standing up – with the blanket, much to Deidara's disappointment – and hung it over Ino, who looked at her thankfully. "You two need to get in some clean clothes and under the blankets. And why on earth would you guys go into a river in the middle of _January!?" _Sakura exclaimed.

Hidan sent her glare before piping up with "Well, if you and dork-o over here hadn't drowned us in mud, maybe we wouldn't have _had _to go into a river." Then plopped down in front of the fire and wrapping his arms around himself, ignoring the glare Sakura gave him. When he heard the zipper pull up to announce the girl's tent closed, a smirk pulled the corners of his lips. "So, did you kiss her?"

"I would _have _if you two hadn't interrupted, yeah."

**There is chapter seven! So with them out four-wheeling and what not, I love it:3 I get the same rush that I explained in this chapter whenever I go out and drive. Noooow.. Imma about to get mushy and gunk so if you want, just skip over it. **

_To everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed/READ this story, thanks you guys. You are really awesome. I just want to let you know that if you are going through anything (depression/abuse/eating disorders/etc.) You guys are still awesome. I love you, every single one of you. I had no motivation for really anything on 7/22/2013 until I read someone who reviewed my story. That is the main point why I'm writing this. Once again, thanks you guys. I love you so much._

**Okay, mushy part over. But what I say is true~~ Now then I deleted the poll for the stories because I want to know if I should continue "Abstract Kuniochis", "Friends Forever" or should I start one of my new stories "End of the Line" and "Unforeseen Circumstances"? Or a HinaSasuInoIta story? Thanks :3 Anyway… Next chapter they are back in school :D and the drama starts! (finally, right?) And Suigetsu will be introduced, too! He has a special mission to accomplish :3 And if you guys could give me any ideas for flashbacks, that would be great XD And to those of you who love crack pairings such as ItaTema, go check out "Safe and Sound"! It's a small angst one-shot for ItaTema. I couldn't resist :3 And I am so sorry for that suck-ish scary story. It was terrible to me. And sorry for the suckish chapter. Writer's block again **

End of the Line

"Monsters don't live under the bed, they live in your head." Sakura is in depression, Ino is anorexic, Hinata is abused, and Tenten cuts. These four all go to the same school, never noticing each other until one day when they meet in the bathroom to deal with whatever pain they go through and use each other as strength. Couples will be later.

Unforeseen Circumstances

All in the same afternoon, Sakura and Hinata find themselves caring for men who are the opposite of the one they loved. DeixSaku and ItaxHina.

**-Once again, thanks! And please review! P.S.: I'm might be late for the next update because I have to do some things to get ready for school this week D: I don't go back until August 20****th****, though. My first year of high school, guys :3**


	8. Author's Note- Thanks and Sorry!

My Best Friend's Brother

**GUYSSS! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated since the beginning of August D: I have a few reasons why and I'll tell you:**

**I just started high school back on the 20****th**** and I have had a ton of homework. And there was a summer project I had to do, too. **

**This hasn't happened yet, but it will start up soon; I am showing signs of social anxiety so I am going to go see someone about on Tuesday. I have no idea how long it will take. **

**I'm going to start revising my old story because it was horribly written. **

**That's about all… So once again, I'm very sorry I haven't updated in a while and that this is just an author's note. But I am still writing it so don't worry, I haven't given up on it. Just give me some time. Also, when I finish this one, what story should I do?:**

**Abstract Kuniochi- Chapter one and two are up**

**Friends Forever- Chapter one is up**

**Vermillion Flowers- **Temari is the princess of the Wind country who doesn't like fancy things. Itachi is a knight from the Fire Country guarding another princess. One day, they cross paths and everything changes. ItaTema

**I know "Vermillion Flowers" doesn't sound great, but for what I have planned, I think you guys would like it. By the way, that story will have slight Ino-bashing because she is the other princess from Fire who likes Itachi so I guess it will be an InoItaTema story XD With other side couples. So tell please tell me what one sounds better and go and read the first two if you haven't so you can have an idea of what will happen. **

**Thank you guys, for sticking by the story! I know it's been awhile since I last updated, and I'm sorry once again that this is just am author's note. And you guys can still tell me which story you prefer until I finish up the story. You guys are so awesome for being so patient! I'll try to update soon, but I can't promise anything. Love you guys!**


	9. Jealous Rage and New Student (Pt 1)

My Best Friend's Brother

_Deidara, Ino, Sakura, and Hidan were all standing outside in Ino's backyard, sweating and panting heavily. "It's too hot!" Hidan screamed, using his hand to fan himself. He turned his head to look at Deidara, magenta eyes pleading. "Can we _please _go inside!? I'm going to turn into a puddle!" _

_ They both ignored Ino's sarcastic 'Well _that _would be a problem.' "We can't yeah. The air conditioner broke and my dad hasn't gotten it fixed yet, yeah. It'll be the same temperature in there as it is out here." Deidara said from his position under the tree in the shade. _Smart kid. _Hidan thought while eyeing the blonde. Sakura was playing with a piece of grass, her legs swinging back and forth over her back. She looked unperturbed by the searing heat. Deidara caught him staring at her and looked over to the pinkette, his jaw almost touching the ground. "Sakura, how are you not bothered by the heat!?"_

_ The girl looked up, her green eyes swimming in confusion with her closest friends looking at her in astonishment. She merely shrugged, going back to smoothing the blade of grass. "I'm used to it. Our house usually never has air conditioning because it's always broke. My dad hardly makes enough money to keep the electricity on, anyway." She gave a soft before turning over onto her back and closing her eyes, relishing in the way the sun shone down on her and the cool breeze caressed her face. _

_ Ino huffed and crossed her arms, staring at her best friend. She had cringed a little when she said that part about her father and felt guilt bubbling in her stomach at how they had been complaining about the heat while Sakura just enjoyed everything that was given to her – even this crazy heat. Sometimes, her and her pink little head made Ino feel like a brat. But still, a smile was tugging on both sides of her lips. Sakura was also able to make her feel appreciated. _

_ "Well what are we supposed to do? DIE!? Have a heat stroke!?" Hidan asked in a hysterical voice, eyes wide as he made a grapple for the grass around him, fingers clenched tightly. Ino rolled her eyes at him before nudging his side a little harshly with her foot._

_ "We'll all miss you." She deadpanned, choosing to tune out his screaming and cursing. Next to Hidan, Deidara was trying to hold back his grin of amusement. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and his grin only got more uncontrollable at Sakura's small body shaking with the giggles coming out of her. _

_ "Why are you picking on me, Ino? What did I ever do to you!?" Hidan pouted._

_ Examining her nails as if she was bored – which she was, Hidan realized with a small spout of anger in his chest – she calmly stated "You came into my life without a guide to keep you under control." While his best friend and sister bickered, Deidara choose the time to talk to Sakura._

_ "Hey." He called, laying in the grass next to her, watching her weave the flowers into a bracelet between the stems. The flowers are small; the white and purple ones that grow in every yard. Though he worked in the flower shop, he never paid much attention to what they were called – he just chose to call them weeds since that was what they basically were. A small blush made its way to his face and he had no clue as to why. Being this close to Sakura, perhaps? A small drop of sweat ran down his forehead and almost to his eye if he hadn't raised his hand to wipe it off. _

_ The pink haired girl gives him a soft smile as her fingers braided the flowers together, her eyebrows dipping in frustration when she couldn't work one stem correctly. "Those two being too much to handle, again…?" Sakura giggled lightly when Deidara sighed and ran a hand through his damp scalp, giving her the answer. _

_ "They are always too much to handle, yeah. They bicker like an old married couple sometimes." His eyes traveled over to the arguing pair, a small smirk tugging the sides of his lips when he saw Ino threat Hidan. Sakura gave a small giggle before rolling back onto her stomach. Deidara followed suit and unintentionally moved closer to Sakura. "What are ya' makin'?" He asked, peering over her shoulder and smirking lightly when she pulled it from his view. _

_ Sakura gave another small giggle when Deidara tried to reach for it, only for her to push it away. "You can't look! I'm making one for all four of us!" She laughed at the pout on Deidara's face, his blue eyes tearing up in a puppy dog look. _

_ He placed a hand over his chest, right where his heart was, feigning a hurt expression. "You wound me, Sakura. Wound me deep." He grinned when the pinkette burst into another round of cute giggles, her cheeks flushing light pink from the lack of air. "You okay, yeah?" he asked with slight worry._

_ She nodded her head in response, taking deep breaths when her laughter pass, small chuckles bubbling in her chest and escaping every few seconds. Small tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and she used the free hand to wipe them away. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... you looked..." And another round of laughter came forth, and she buried her face into the grass. _

She's so cute when she laughs… _A small blush appeared on his face when the though passed through his head and he finally came to realize the goofy grin on his face. He finally relaxed in his stance and watched her make the bracelet. And nearly died when Ino screamed at Hidan. Sakura and Deidara both jumped at the same, eyes wide and wild as adrenalin pumped through their veins. They both took a few shaky breaths, hands over their overly racing hearts and turned to see what was going on between the others. _

_ "You _**idiot**_!" She screeched, looking ready to kill him. "What were you thinking!? Or were you even thinking!? No, I'll answer it for you! You _**weren't**_!" Her eyes were a livid purple, a far different contrast from her usually full of life icy blue ones. Sakura winced when she heard the sound of her friend gritting her teeth together. _

_ "Look, I'm sorry, damn it! What do you want me to do?!" He glared back at her just as icily. Deidara frowned and got up from his spot on the ground, not paying any attention to the dirt and grass stains on his shirt and pants. He easily hauled Sakura up – causing her to run into his chest since he didn't expect the light weight – before they both walked to the fighting couple. _

_ "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What happened, yeah?" Deidara asked, placing his hand on Ino's shoulder to keep her in place. Sakura stood quietly next to him, looking between Hidan and Ino._

_ "This _**idiot **_though it would be a good idea to push me on the ground! And if that wasn't enough, there is _mud _on my _skirt._" She screeched over the shrill laughter from Hidan. She sent him an icy glare before stepping forward a bit to show Deidara and Sakura the back of her skirt. There was a deep brown blotch all over the purple material, and some even clinging to the bottom of her orange shirt. The two had to place their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing and making Ino even angrier. "This is your fault you over grown monkey!" She hollered pointing at Hidan._

_ Magenta eyes looked at her dancing with amusement. "'Over grown monkey'…? That's a new one, seriously." _

_ If Deidara hadn't been holding onto her tightly, Ino was sure she would have killed the man in front of her. She gave a shriek of annoyance and stomped toward the house to get something else to wear, Sakura quickly following after her. The blonde chose to ignore the cute giggles coming from her best friend, instead counting to ten in her head to keep her anger in._

**Beep. Beep. Beep.**

Sakura awoke with a slight jump, her forehead covered in sweat and her body shaking. She ignored the pounding in her head for the intense pain shooting up and down her left leg. Sakura gave a soft hiss and placed her hand over it, pushing pressure into the bone in hopes of keeping the pain down. With a sigh, she pushed back her covers gently and slowly moved left leg to the wooden floor. She limped to her bathroom, biting down on the back of her hand every time a scream almost came out. When she came to the door frame, she grasped the wood tightly, feeling some of it sink from her strength.

She stood at the door way like that for a few minutes, taking deep breathes to keep calm. When the pain started to slowly decrease, she swallowed and moved into the room, placing her hand on the sink to keep from falling over when a sudden dizzy spell washed over her like a wave. She shook the feeling off and began to undress, placing her overly large t-shirt on the toilet to use as a towel. A rush of cold hair hit her and she felt a shiver run up and down her spine and her teeth clattered together. Her Inner was shivering and screaming how their dad needed to stop being like Mr. Krabs and turn the heat up in their house for a change.

Sakura quietly giggled, stepping into the shower and closing the curtain, carefully keeping the weight from her left leg. She glanced down at it to see the damage since she wasn't really able to get a good look from last night. A deep purple bruise ran up from the mid-way point on her shin to an inch above her knee cap. Small blotches or red and black dotted the area and she could have sworn she felt the bones in her shin rubbing up against each other. A gasp of pain emitted from her mouth when she barely swept her palms over the area and she bit her lip to keep the scream in.

She took in a shaky breath and moved her hand away, opting to place it on the handle to turn the shower on. She closed her eyes and prepared for the avalanche of ice cold water that was sure to pour from the shower head. What she did not expect when the water came out and hit her chest, though, was for it to scalding hot. Her eyes flew open as she was assaulted by the tiny droplets and a scream came forth when one drop landed on her leg. She immediately jumped out of the shower, tears streaming from behind closed eyelids and she curled into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees.

More pain shot up her leg and into her spine, but she ignored it, trying to figure out why her father would do that. She knew it was him. It could only be him. _He wants to get rid of you. He thinks you're the reason why his wife is dead. He uses you as a way to alleviate the mental pain. _Her Inner hissed, venom lacing her tone as she made up pictures of her strangling Kizashi in her head. Sakura whimpered and let her gaze travel to the shower, watching the steam rise up above the curtain and making condensation stick to the small window and the mirror, fogging up both.

She swallowed again before unwrapping her arms from her legs and used them to push herself up, hissing lightly when the pain started to teeter over the edge to unbearable. Stopping every few seconds to allow her body get used to the strain, she grabbed her shirt and pushed it over her head, taking slow and careful limps into her room. She first went to her closet and picked out a random shirt and sweatpants, throwing them on top of her bed before grabbing her sling bag and shoes.

She had trouble trying to get to her dresser, almost tripping a few times and trying to deal with the unbearable pain. She placed her hands on the top of the wooden drawer and breathed heavily, attempting to gain some of her strength before she finally pulled back and opened the top drawer, pulling out her socks, bra, and panties. She quickly put them on, throwing the t-shirt into the corner of her room, not bothering to watch it while hobbling over to her bed. A fire like pain zinged up her leg and she fell on top of the soft mattress, a small cry of pain coming forth being muffled by her blankets.

Taking a few seconds to get her breath back, Sakura pushed off the bed and tried to keep standing. It took a few tries, but when all the pain had dulled down, Sakura got to putting on her clothes – gray long sleeved shirt and black sweatpants – before placing her shoes on, moving slowly and carefully as not to mess with her injuries. A small drop of sweat glistened on her forehead as she attempted to walk out her room. She grabbed her bag and flung it over her shoulder. Small whimpers were heard as she walked down the steps and into the kitchen.

Sakura sighed in relief when she felt the cool metal of her key touch the coldness of her burned area on her palm. When she walks past the stairway again, she pauses and hears the rush of water from the shower. She slapped her palm to her forehead and staggered back up the steps and into her room to turn it off. She was careful to keep the water from touching her arm and burning her again, the steam still rising and clinging to her shirt or hitting her palm. She hissed under her breath and she made contact of the metal before quickly turning it off.

She slowly made her way back down the steps. When she walked outside and closed the door, she placed her key in the lock and locked it before turning to around. She jumped when a loud horn beeped from the bottom of her driveway and she looked to see Ino in the front seat, frowning while listening to Hidan and Deidara blabber on and on in the backseat. When she met Sakura's eyes, she gave a happy smile, and rolled down her window, sticking her head out. "Come on, forehead! Break is over and we got to go back to school!" The pinkette gave a small smile before limping over to the car.

Ino scowled when she saw her friend limp in pain. When the passenger door opened and Sakura sat down – throwing the sling into the space by her feet – Ino made sure the two in the back weren't listening before leaning over to whisper. "Hey, Sakura, are you okay?"

Sakura tensed up, her teeth digging deeply into her lip when she turned to look at Ino. Her blue eyes were shining with curiosity and sadness. Deeper in them held rage and burning passion to destroy her father. Sakura quickly shook her head, putting on a fake smile and swallowing all her fears. "No, I'm fine. I just accidently burned myself in the shower. I turned the water up too high, you know?"

The second it left her lips, Deidara was leaning over the seat, staring at her with worry. "Are you okay, yeah? I mean, you aren't hurt too badly, right?" Sakura smiled at him before nodding her head. He studied her for a second longer before he sat back down in the back seat, seemingly buying her lie. She gave a soft sigh of relief before relaxing into the car seat.

Ino began to drive down the road, silence enveloping them. It was broken, however, by Hidan's stomach growling in the same noise that mimicked a dying whale. Deidara immediately busted out into gut-busting laughter, Sakura and gave a small giggle, and Ino sent an annoyed glare to the magenta eyed male. He scratched the back of his head and stuck out his tongue, sweatdropping when Ino stopped at a red light. "Do you _need_ something, Hidan?" She bit out.

Hidan pouted a little, giving her his best puppy eyes. "I would really like it if we were to pull over and get some damn food, seriously." He grinned when Ino's face got a pondering look, blue eyes glazed over as she thought to herself for a quick minute before her lips twisted into a nasty smirk that sent cold chills down his spine. He gave her a weary look when she began to head down the road again.

"Okay, we can stop somewhere." She purred out, eyes locking with his in the mirror. He narrowed his at her, silently asking what the catch was. "But you have to pay - _For everyone – _and switch seats with Sakura!" Ino cackled evilly when Hidan began to sputter out his disbelief, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. Which she may have. Next to him, Deidara was blushing a very bright red and his throat suddenly felt very dry. "You don't mind sitting next to Sakura, do you Deidara?" Her voice had taken a playful undertone to it now, teasing him gently.

The older blonde snorted, trying in vain to keep his blush down to a minimum and swallowed in an attempt to wet his throat. "Not at all, yeah. She can sit back here. Much better company than Hidan in my- Ow! What the hell was that for!?" Deidara asked Hidan, eyes looking at him with slight anger while rubbing the sore spot on his arm that the gray haired male had punched. Said boy was glaring at him, arms crossed over his chest.

"_That_ was for even trying to say I was horrible company." He placed one hand over his heart and sniffed, making his eyes water in fake tears. "You cut me deep, Dei. You cut me deep." Deidara gave him a blank look while Hidan simply grinned. In the front, Sakura and Ino were giggling cutely to themselves, listening to the conversation in the back. "Aww, what's wrong, Dei? Cat got your tongue? Or are you just so sad you're speechless?"

"You're an idiot." He simply said before turning to look at his sister. "So, where and when are we stopping? I want to get away from this moron as soon as possible, yeah."

Ino laughed at that while Sakura smiled at the blonde, giving him butterflies in the pit of his stomach and his heartbeat increased slightly. He gave her an uneasy smile back, swallowing again and fidgeting in his seat. Everyone ignored Hidan as he began to ramble on and on about who knows what with words thrown in about how feeling hurt, a broken heart, cats, and his cousin's band, Jashin – Ino still couldn't get over the name of the band matching the clan's name – coming after Deidara. Especially since the blonde was in his own state of mind at the time, trying to keep cool for when Sakura was going to sit next to him.

**#6#7#8**

Hidan sat grumbling in the back seat, going through his wallet to look for the twenty he kept in there to pay for the food. _Dammit, Kakuzu. I swear if you took my money, I will throw pencils at you in class all day. _Ino sat impatiently in the front, her face twisted into a scowl and her fingers drumming over the steering wheel. She gave an annoyed groan before turning her head to look at Hidan. "You find that twenty, yet? We are next to pay, you know."

"I know that!" He snapped back harshly, glaring a mildly at her. He clenched his jaw and returned to looking for the bill.

Ino glared back just as hard. "Look, don't snap at me, dammit. I'm not the one who wanted to come here in the first place. And how long does it take to find money in a freaking wallet!?"

"I don't know! Ask your mom!"

"Oh, real mature! Where did you get that come back from? The douche bag neighbor of yours!?"

Hidan opened his mouth to retaliate but a piercing honk stopped him. Ino looked at the front window and noticed the car that had been in front of her's had moved. She pulled up to the window and gave a friendly smile to the girl who popped her gum with a blank look. "That'll be $11.76, ma'am."

Ino turned around in the car seat and looked at Hidan. "Did you find it yet?" She pursed her lips together when he gave her a negative response before leaning over the seat and simply grabbing his wallet. She ignored his sputters and curses as she handed the – now amused looking – cashier the wallet. "Here ya go!" She chirped happily. The woman nodded her head, trying to contain her giggles while pulling out the exact change and handing the brown-ish maroon leather back to Ino.

"Dammit pig, why the hell did you take my _entire _wallet and hand it to her!?" Hidan asked, giving her a death glare and praying that she would start to choke randomly in her seat. It didn't happen.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted food and couldn't find the money to pay. I was simply improvising." Ino winked at him the mirror with a smirk curling the sides of her lips. Sakura was biting her lip to try and keep the smile from her face and looked out at the window as an alternative. She watched other cars whizzing by in an array of different colors with the Ino and Hidan's bickering sounding slightly farther away than what it truly was. She jumped lightly in her seat when she felt breath fanning her neck.

"Hey." Deidara whispered lightly, finally speaking up since his and Hidan's fight. Sakura gave him a questioning look. "Does Hidan like my sister?" Sakura's eyebrows knitted together in a contemplative look, her eyes locking with his. She nibbled on her bottom lip lightly glancing at the other two who were still bickering, throwing insults at each other like no tomorrow. They had barely pulled up to the next window.

"I…" She stopped for second, inhaling a small amount of air. "I think he does, but I'm not sure. He acts like he does." She watched Deidara nod, keeping his eyes on the two. He leaned back in the seat, arms crossed and a glare in his eyes directed to Hidan.

"Look, I was just paying for your fucking food. You wanted it and you'll get it. Now shut up!" Hidan opened his mouth to reply, glaring daggers at Ino, when a honk from behind them interrupted. All four turned to see the angered face of a middle aged woman screaming obstinacies at them. Ino turned and sweatdropped when she noticed the line had pulled up. "Ahehehe… Sorry?" She called to the enraged woman before pulling up. She gave Hidan a smug look in the mirror and turned to face the person in the window.

Her eye immediately went bright when she saw the handsome man standing there. Long, shaggy brown hair, toothpick in between his teeth and a bored look on his face. His nametag said _Genma _and Ino played it to her advantage.

Giving her best flirty smile, she batted her eyelashes at him. "Hello there, _Genma,_" She purred out, wrapping a piece of blonde hair around her finger. The guy's eyes widened before going back to the lazy half-lid he had, now with a smirk pulling his lips.

"Hello there, doll-face. I'm guessing you're the one with the order that could feed a football team…?" His eyes – so big and so brown – held a small spark of amusement that sent her stomach into knots at the hope that he wasn't _rejecting _her. She gave a nervous smile before sending a deadly glare to the silver haired male in the backseat who was watching the scene play out with amusement.

"Yes," She hissed, "I suppose we are." The man heard her tone and backed off, handing her the bags and drinks – Ino, still in her rage, pulled them with a great force from his hands, grumbling all the while. She slammed on th gas pedal and pulled up to the front, making a sharp turn into a parking spot. All the other three flew to the left, Sakura clapping her hands over the cups and holding the bags to make sure they didn't go anywhere. Hidan stared at her.

"W-What the hell, woman!? Are you mentally challenged? Or were just attempting to murder us!?" His hand was on his rapidly beating heart, eyes wide, and mouth opened slightly. He jumped back lightly when Ino turned around, her eyes blazing.

"_Why!?" _Her tone made everyone jump then shrink back down. Sakura and Deidara's eyes met in a fleeting glance. "Why is that every damn time I'm with you, _you _somehow end up making me loose a chance at a relationship!" She screeched, her eyes turning a dark blue. Hidan blinked, thoroughly dumbfounded by her accusation.

"What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind or something..?"

Ino gave an annoyed holler before turning to Sakura. "You two can switch places now." She turned to Hidan, sending him an icy glare. "And if you do anything - _anything_ – I will make you walk to school, got it!?" Hidan nodded at her seeing as it was all he could do at the time. He scrambled to open the door and almost fell out when he unbuckled the seat belt. He passed Sakura when they switched and met her eyes. She gave a simple shrug.

When they were all in back in the car, Ino grabbed the two bags and started handing out the food carelessly, only calling the names of whatever she pulled from the paper bag first and placing it in the direction of the voice that called out first. An awkward silence has settled upon the four – though Ino barely noticed it, her mind still being consumed with rage – as they each silently got their food.

When everything was in place and everyone had everything they needed, Ino pulled out from parking spot quickly and drove out, stopping at the red light. Deidara looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye and then up to the front before giving her a slight nudge. When she met his eyes, he motioned towards the front seat with, silently asking what was up with the two.

Sakura looked between the two in the front seat and bit her bottom lip lightly, trying to think, eyebrows knitting together. She looked back at him and mouthed '_I think they are frustrated with each other.' _It took a few times before she finally – and quietly as to not disturb the surrounding silence – took out a sheet of notebook paper and a pen, copying down what she was trying to say in quick cursive and handing it to him. Deidara's blue eyes skimmed over the sheet and glanced up at her. He took out a pen of his own.

Their conversation went on without either in the front noticing, too much into an awkward position to really do much but stay quiet. The paper was filled up with pink curly cursive writing and gold messy print. Deidara felt the need to snort at the look of each of their handwriting written on the page and how it seemed to match the color of their hair. He caught a slight glimmer in Sakura's eyes and smirked at how she seemed to figure it out, too.

"We're almost there." Ino's flat voice broke them from their small world where only they belonged. A small pink blush dusted their cheeks when they realized they forgot about their driver and passenger in the car with them.

Deidara coughed slightly before clearing his throat. "Right." He glanced back at the paper and read the last sentence of pink swirls and dots and lines. _I think he likes her. And wants to make sure he is the only one who can have her. Remember at the mall what he did to that guy Ino wanted to flirt with? _He was the brother, so shouldn't _he _be the one protecting Ino!? He glared for a fleeting second at Hidan before huffing and crossing his arms.

Sakura was smiling a gentle, warm smile at the blonde when she noticed the look he had given Hidan before glaring out the window. His lips were pulled down into a frown with a small pout. He looked so adorably childish at the moment that is was very hard for Sakura to keep her giggles in. He was such an overprotective older brother sometimes. A small twinge of envy twisted in her chest and she bit her lip nervously – a bad habit, she noticed – while looking between both blondes. She wanted – no, _craved _– for the love and affection of a brother. She hated being all alone with only her father as company.

She gave snort. When was her father any sort of company? Or just a comfort to her? Her leg sent a small pang of pain up her side and down her spine, an involuntary shiver shaking her body lightly. Why didn't he care for at all? She was the last thing linking him to her mother, so why was he trying to cause so much pain to her? Small tears made their way to her eyes and she used the sleeve of her shirt to quickly brush them away, making it look as though she was just rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.

The car made a sudden jerk when Ino slammed the breaks on the car, scaring everyone from their individual thoughts. Ino – still blank faced – shut off the car and got out, looking at them with raised eyebrows and asking if they were coming or not. Slowly, Sakura, Deidara, and Hidan all got out and calmly closing their doors. Ino locked it and turned to the entrance of the school before blinking.

"Why… is everyone still outside?" She asked, looking between the three. Deidara and Hidan just shrugged, looking equally as confused while Sakura looked ready to have a panic attack.

Her heartbeat was increasing rapidly, her palms were sweaty, her entire body trembling. Her mouth was suddenly dry and it felt like no air was getting into her lungs no matter how much she breathed in. She felt lightheaded, ready to just pass out on the ground. There were so many people… and she felt like everyone was staring at her, judging her, picking out her flaws. The faint ringing of her name, along with Hidan's, Ino's, and Deidara's, floated in her ears before a warm, tight grip wrapped around her upper arm, dragging her to somewhere.

She was pushed down lightly on a seat and blinked away all the bleariness to get a good look at where she was; a stone table over by the cafeteria doors meant for the seniors. Karin, Pein, Konan, and Naruto were all sitting there, chatting away with Hidan or Ino. The grip was still on her arm.

She turned to look at the tanned hand, following it up the arm, then the neck, and finally meeting light blue eyes clouded with worry. "You okay, yeah? You looked like you were going to pass out or jump into the car back there." Sakura smiled lightly and nodded her head, making him relax in his seat and drop his hand.

"So, Sakura," Naruto started, a large smile on his face when he addressed her, "how was your break? Did you do anything fun? Did Ino drag you around to places? Mine was really fun, dattebayo! Konan and I spent most of the time watching scary movies and- Ow!" The blonde reached down to rub his shin, bottom lip jutted out the glaring Konan. "What was that for, dattebayo!?"

Her glare intensified. "They don't need to know what else happened. That is _personal _business, thank you." The amber-eyes girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, giving Naruto a stern look.

Next to Konan, Karin snickered before pushing up her glasses. "You think he actually knows what personal business is? He practically screams out every thought that floats through his head. Which is good since it would probably disappear as soon as it comes, anyway."

"Hey! That's not true! I can remember my thoughts just fine!" Pein muttered a small 'Yeah, right.' Under his breath. The blonde began to fume, looking ready to throw a fit then and there. Before it could commence, though, Ino intervened.

"Does anyone know why everybody is still out here and not in the school? It's almost 7:25 and that's when the bell rings usually, right?"

Pein nodded before pushing his hand through the large bush of orange hair and sighing. "Yeah, it usually does. But no one really knows why we are waiting out here. Or at least, no one has told us yet." His gray eyes traveled over to the redhead sitting next to him who shifted uncomfortably under his intimidating gaze. Ino's eyes traveled over to her and widened.

"Do you know anything about this, Karin!?" Said girl eyed her wearily, trying to decide whether or not it was worth telling her. Slowly, though, she nodded. "Tell us, woman!" Ino nearly screamed, flying up in her seat and slamming her palms onto the table.

Karin cleared her throat, fidgeting under all seven's interested gazes. She scowled at them, sniffing lightly. "Could you please calm down a bit? I don't feel comfortable enough to tell you!" She smiled brightly when they all – reluctantly – sat back down calmly and watched her carefully.

She cleared her throat as if about to give a long presentation. "Well, apparently we are getting a new kid today. And for some reason, they kept the school closed. Probably has something to with showing him around and not wanting to have to fight with the kids to try and show him the school." She shrugged. "But I can't be positive in it at all."

Naruto looked at her quietly, as did everyone else. "So…" He started, "do you, like, _know _this kid or what…?" His voice trailed off at the end, eyebrows raised high enough to almost mix with his hair.

Karin nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "In fact, I do. He's my dad's friend's son. His dad travels a lot so he might not even be here that long." She gave a small shrug while everyone looked at her. Hidan opened his mouth to talk when the cafeteria door next to them squeaked opened – Hidan was mentally fuming, now. How many people were going to interrupt him before he could finally start talking?! – and two people stepped out.

"So," the younger of the two started, eyebrows knit together, "I have to find this 'Ino Yamanaka' person and ask her to help me with my way around school? But… didn't you just show me around the building?"

The principal laughed merrily, smiling brightly before clocking the boy on the back. "Nonsense! You are to socialize with miss Yamanaka! Make new friends here!" Hiruzen's eyes skimmed over the court yard and immediately brightened up when he spotted the group of eight at the table all blinking over at them. "And speaking of which, here they are! Guys, I would like to introduce you to…"

**#6#7#8**

**I'm going to stop here for the night. I want to say this real quick. I'm so super sorry I haven't updated in forever! T_T A lot of things are going crazy now a days. But anyway, I have a long weekend this week (yay~) So I will be working on **_**eight **_**one-shots of different couples. Ughh.. I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep at the keyboard XD. **

**Reviews would make me very happy~ **


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